From Sea to Wasteland
by TheBloodInfinite20XX
Summary: Elizabeth finds herself in the year 2013. After months of blending in, she meets a man named Frank Williams and decides to share her story of her time in The Capital Wasteland. Takes place after Bioshock Infinite: Burial at Sea and Fallout 4.
1. Chapter 1 - Part 1

**Authors Note:** **This is a story featuring an original character named Frank Williams, who I used previously in another story "Sleep, I'll Be Here" There is no need to read that story if you do not wish to. This story has one or two vague minor references to my previous story, but absolutely no spoilers or huge plot points regarding the medium my previous story is based on. I just wanted to include Frank Williams as a minor character in this story, nothing more. This is a story about Elizabeth from her perspective and is a strict Bioshock/Fallout crossover.**

 **On a side note, this story only contains a mild plot point from Fallout 3, but there are no major spoilers for that, Fallout New Vegas, or Fallout 4.**

October 8th, 2289, in a world torn apart by war long ago, a man in a white hazmat suit continued working on two bodies laying on a massive gurney. They were recently delivered to his establishment, a run down, old, research facility, claimed by him and turned into what he called his home. The two bodies resembled twin sisters, wearing the same ensemble, but appeared to have died differently. One was impaled with a metal rebar, the other appeared to have died from blunt trauma to the head; it was clear to the man that he had a lot of work to do.

As the man listened to Frank Sinatra's That's Life, he got to work on the filthy and ravaged corpses. He took hold of the rebar with a firm grip and began to slowly pull it out until it was free. With the rebar removed, he threw it aside on a nearby metal table, where it landed with a large clang. With the obstruction out of the way, the man picked up a pair surgical scissors and got started on removing the clothing from the impaled victim. He started with her button up shirt, cutting the sides and the sleeves for easy removal. Then her skirt, clipping off the belt before cutting down the center of the scuffed up dress and removing it. After removing her heels, he proceeded to cut off each of her stockings, eventually clipping off and removing her bra and underwear. The cold, bloodied, and bruised body was bare after stripping away all the clothing. His work was not done. With a pair of pliers, the man removed a thimble that covered the woman's pinkie finger, which appeared to be missing, although it was apparent that she had lost her finger a long time ago. The man dropped the thimble in a nearby metal tray, where it landed with a clatter. The last piece of the ensemble was a brooch with a bird medallion on it. It looked nice, really nice, and was in decent condition compared to the rest of her clothing. So he opted to keep it intact as he carefully removed it and set it aside. Once again, for the blunt trauma victim, he removed the clothes step by step just as he had done before while keeping the bird brooch. The only difference was that the second bodies pinkie was intact, with no thimble to remove. With the brooches and the thimble set aside, he took the discarded clothes and threw them in a furnace, there was no point in holding onto tattered rags.

Stripped of their clothing, the man moved on to the next step, which was working on blood samples from the bodies. He was trying to isolate key strains of the DNA that the twins provided when he came across an extraordinary discovery. The two women were in fact not twins but were one and the same. They were a single person that had somehow split into two, that much the man was able to determine based on what he observed from the DNA results on his terminal. But who were these two women who were once one woman? He had only one name to go by on a slip of paper; Elizabeth. After prepping the two lifeless bodies of Elizabeth, the man set the bodies together in a brightly lit room, he was preparing them for some kind of experiment.

A ding went off next to a terminal, the DNA samples were mixed and bonded into one complete sequence. The man stepped outside of the brightly lit room and took the test tube containing the life strains of the two one in the same women, as he stepped back into the room and fed it into a massive, hulking, almost crudely constructed machine, meant to resurrect the dead. He stepped outside the room once more and flipped a nearby switch, starting the machine up. In a bright flash, the two corpses of Elizabeth were gone, merged back into one woman as she stumbled out of the machine and fell to the ground unconscious. The man stood in shock and disbelief, before laughing and cheering in celebration of his accomplishment.

Elizabeth was born once again, into a world she knows nothing about. A future lies ahead of her, set for her after her time was supposed to be up. It was a new beginning, a chance to start over. A new story was about to unfold, as death is conquered; and life begins again.


	2. Chapter 2

May 3rd, 2013, Elizabeth DeWitt was far from ordinary, a twenty-two-year-old girl with a mysterious and troubled past filled with emotional and physical hardship, she had overcome many hurdles to find her way to where she currently was in life. Once cold and numb to the world, over time she became friendly and kind, with a gentle personality, demeanor and inner soul were as beautiful as she was. Her features included long brown hair, always styled in a ponytail, big blue eyes that appeared animated, a pert nose, and sweet lips that resembled pink candy. Elizabeth was truly stunning, like a princess from a Disney animated film. But what stood out from her the most, aside from her intelligence and beauty, and the bird cameo brooch she regularly wore; was her missing pinkie, covered up with a silver thimble. Elizabeth was also independently wealthy, thanks to a generous contribution from an old friend. In the past she was good at finding money, now money was no longer an issue. Despite her wealth, she lived somewhat under her means with her wardrobe, as well as her choice of activities. She chose to volunteer at her local library on her off time, due to her love of books, but books weren't the only reason she was volunteering. In the past, Elizabeth had a sort of, ability; the ability to see things and experience premonitions. And even though she had lost that ability, she learned a long time ago that she needed to be there for something; soon she would understand why.

Elizabeth had been watching a man hanging around and browsing different books for a while until her co-worker decided to speak up and help her come back to reality.

"You've been staring at him for ten minutes"

"What?"

Elizabeth's focus was finally pulled away from the man.

"Personally he's not my type, but if you're into him then go talk to him"

"I'm going to, it's just, the timing needs to be perfect"

"Well, you better make it quick before he decides to leave…Go!"

Elizabeth got up from the reception desk and approached the man.

"Hi, do you need help with anything?"

"Oh no I'm good thanks"

Elizabeth pretended to sort through books, she hoped her timing was correct. After a few seconds, the man turned to Elizabeth to ask her a question.

"Actually can you help me look for a book? Please?"

"Yes, what do you need?"

"Uh it's um, it's, oh Metro 2033"

"Okay I'll be right back"

Elizabeth went back to her desk and punched in some information, trying to be quick about it, the timing was everything. She eventually pulled up the confirmation that they had the book and rushed back over to help the man.

"We have it, I'll show you where it is"

"Oh I uh, I don't wanna bother you"

"No, it's fine I'll show you"

The man started to follow Elizabeth, only to stop in his tracks. He started looking around as if he sensed something.

"Is everything okay?"

"Yeah um…nothing, it's nothing"

Elizabeth brought the man over to the section he needed and found the right book. She took it off the shelf and handed it over with a smile.

"Here you go"

"Thanks"

Just as the man was about to leave, Elizabeth stopped him to talk further.

"Hold on, would you be interested in reading some personal recommendations?"

"Uh, sure"

Elizabeth went through isle by isle picking out some of her personal favorite books, books like Empire State by Adam Christopher, and Black Butterflies by John Shirley.

"Here you go"

"Thanks, I'll definitely check these out"

After providing the man with her favorite reading material, Elizabeth decided it was time to properly introduce herself.

"I'm Elizabeth"

Elizabeth stuck her hand out for the man to shake.

"Frank"

As Frank shook Elizabeth's hand, she could sense something felt strange to him based on his expressions, she realized he could feel her missing pinkie when he took hold of her hand.

"Huh?…Oh! I'm sorry!"

Frank felt a little awkward shaking Elizabeth's hand for the first time and tried to apologize.

"It's okay! I promise I'm not upset"

Elizabeth laughed off the misunderstanding, she could tell that helped put Frank at ease. She decided to take things further by asking if she could address Frank as Frankie instead.

"Say, can I call you Frankie?"

"Uh, sure"

Elizabeth's timing was perfect; soon it would be time to see what direction things would go in for her and Frank.

May 15th, 2013, it had been two weeks since Frank Williams had started talking to Elizabeth DeWitt after meeting by chance at the library she volunteered for, and it wasn't long before he was visiting the library almost every day just to see her. Elizabeth was always assisting Frank with finding new books to read, and she had learned from him that he struggled occasionally from understanding what was happening in certain novels or biography's that were considered advanced for him. She assured him he had nothing to be embarrassed about and decided to assist him by sitting down with him during her lunch breaks and helping him read or go over the literature she provided. Elizabeth was so helpful that Frank told her she would make a great teacher, and although she couldn't go to college to pursue that career for personal reasons, she was still flattered.

After getting to know Elizabeth for so long, Frank decided it was time to see if he could make something more out of his growing relationship with her. They headed outside, away from public eyes and ears, she had been polite enough to agree to speak to him in private while on her break. Frank mustered up as much courage as he could, hoping he wouldn't stumble over his words or appear a fool; eventually, he dug down and went for it.

"So listen, the reason I wanted to talk to you, I've been thinking, a lot. Just, just let me finish before you answer me, please. Okay so, I um, I enjoy being around you, like spending time with you. I like learning new things from you and um, you're incredibly smart, I really like that about you. I also like how kind you are. It's like, you're so nice and sweet. And it's not just that, like, you look so pretty all the time, you're really beautiful. And you're cute. Like really, really cute. Okay look, I know you probably get asked out a lot, but um, do you think maybe you would like to, you know, do something with me? You know like, go out sometime? Like maybe uh, uh, a date? What do you think? Please?"

Elizabeth turned away from Frank, she couldn't stop herself from blushing. Not just from Frank's compliment's, but his adorable attempt at trying to ask her out. After collecting herself, she turned back over to Frank and decided to tease him a little as she took on a look of discomfort, followed by a serious demeanor.

"I'm currently seeing someone and I think this is inappropriate"

Elizabeth acted in an offended manner, watching Frank melt as he apologized.

"Oh my god! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to offend you! I'm really, really sorry!"

Elizabeth immediately felt guilty about messing with Frank, but that didn't stop her from snickering and laughing as she placed her hands on his arms and attempted to right the situation.

"I'm kidding! Frankie, I'm kidding. I'm sorry, that was mean; I would love to go on a date with you"

Elizabeth gave Frank a warm bright smile as she took hold of his hand. He was still a little shook up following her fake rejection, but he managed to pull himself together. After exchanging phone numbers, Frank and Elizabeth bid each other farewell.

"Give me a call sometime. You did a good job, asking me out. Take care Frankie"

"Thanks, you too"

Elizabeth put her hands on Frank's shoulders as she leaned in and gave him a gentle kiss on the cheek. His shock was washed away, replaced by the feeling of success as he departed with a smile on his face and his head held high. Although Elizabeth was happy to finally be going out with someone, it was far from fortuitous. She could tell there was a bright future for the both of them; she could almost see it.


	3. Chapter 3

July 4th, 2013, Elizabeth and Frank decided to spend Independents Day at Coney Island, watching the fireworks display that lit up the night sky and the water below it. She looked up at him, still leaning on his shoulder, she saw he was watching her instead of the illumination in the sky. This was the first time they had become close since they started dating, and she knew Frank was still shy and timid about expressing how he felt or what he wanted, so she decided to take it one step further. Elizabeth lifted her head from Frank's shoulder, taking hold of his hand as she looked him in the eyes and made him an offer she felt they both wanted.

"You can kiss me if you want"

"I, um, really?"

"Yes"

"Uh, are you sure it's okay?"

"Yes Frankie"

"It's um, it's been a while"

"You've kissed someone before?"

"Yeah, long time ago"

"So show me how"

Frank watched Elizabeth lean in closer to him, as she closed her eyes, smirking as she puckered her lips. He knew he couldn't keep her waiting. Besides, she was right, he really did want to kiss her. Frank took a hand to Elizabeth's shoulder as he moved forward, tilting his head slightly and closing his eyes as he felt his lips make contact with hers. He held it for a few seconds until their lips parted and connected. Frank savored his first kiss with Elizabeth as her giggles were stifled, expressing the bliss and delight she was experiencing. Fireworks continued going off around them, their moment together symbolized by the big finale of lights that lit up the sky; and a kiss that lit up both of them at that exact moment.

Later on, after they took the train home, Frank decided to stay over late at Elizabeth's apartment. She lived in a comfortable suite, it's theme was modern art deco and it was easy to see why Frank preferred Elizabeth's place to his small low rent apartment. After spending the night listening and dancing to her vast collection of music, Frank was getting ready to leave soon, but there was one more thing he wanted to do with her. While listening to music Elizabeth told Frank that she could sing, and that made him really want to hear her. At first, she declined, but Frank came off as incredibly sweet for wanting to hear her, so she decided to accept his request and sing for him.

"Come on, let me hear you sing"

"Okay, I'll sing for you. I'm rusty so don't make fun of me"

"I won't I promise"

Frank took a seat on the couch while Elizabeth stood in front of him. She warmed up her voice with some small vocal exercises as she decided what she would sing for him. There were two songs she truly knew, to the point where they were a part of her. She closed her eyes, thinking back to past memories as she shared one of the songs with Frank.

" _There are loved ones in the glory,_ _w_ _hose dear forms you often miss._ _W_ _hen you close your earthly story,_ _w_ _ill you join them in their bliss_ "

" _Will the circle be unbroken,_ _b_ _y and by,_ _l_ _ord, by and by. There's a better home awaiting,_ _i_ _n the sky,_ _l_ _ord, in the sky_ "

Elizabeth's song unearthed memories of her father. She held onto the memory of him and the hurt it brought, allowing it to guide her as she continued singing.

" _In the joyous days of childhood,_ _o_ _ft they told of wondrous love._ _P_ _ointed to the dying_ _savior_ _,_ _p_ _ow they dwell with_ _h_ _im above_ "

" _Will the circle be unbroken,_ _b_ _y and by,_ _l_ _ord, by and by. There's a better home awaiting,_ _i_ _n the sky,_ _l_ _ord, in the sky_ "

Memories of an old friend came rushing back. A man who had made her whole again, who had given her hope after she had lost every ounce of it, and taught her to hold onto it. Once again, she used the loss to help guide her through the song.

" _You can picture happy gath'rings,_ _r_ _ound the fireside long ago. And you think of tearful partings,_ _w_ _hen they left you here below_ "

" _Will the circle be unbroken,_ _b_ _y and by,_ _l_ _ord, by and by. There's a better home awaiting,_ _i_ _n the sky,_ _l_ _ord, in the sky_ "

Their actions and kindness would always hold a place close to her heart, next to every bit of tragedy she was forced to endure. The biggest tragedy was that they were gone; gone forever.

" _You remember songs of heaven,_ _w_ _hich you sang with childish voice. Do you love the hymns they taught you,_ _o_ _r are songs of earth your choice_ "

" _Will the circle be unbroken,_ _b_ _y and by,_ _l_ _ord, by and by. There's a better home awaiting,_ _i_ _n the sky,_ _l_ _ord, in the sky_ "

Elizabeth opened her eyes briefly and paused to collect herself when she saw Frank, he had the biggest, most heartwarming smile, she had never seen him look so happy before. Once more she closed her eyes as she fought back her tears, holding onto memories of the past, remembering those who were long gone, but reminding herself of the man she was fortunate enough to share such an intimate moment with.

" _One by one their seats were emptied,_ _o_ _ne by one they went away. Now the family is parted,_ _w_ _ill it be complete one day_ "

" _Will the circle be unbroken,_ _b_ _y and by,_ _l_ _ord, by and by. There's a better home awaiting,_ _i_ _n the sky,_ _l_ _ord, in the sky_ "

Frank thought Elizabeth's singing was beautiful. He felt that it came from deep within her, from the heart.

"That was beautiful, I…"

Frank noticed Elizabeth was crying. He got up and tried to talk to her to see what was wrong.

"You okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine…"

Elizabeth was overcome with a tidal wave of emotions following her singing, both happy and sad. It was overwhelming; all she could do was let go and cry.

"I'm sorry I shouldn't have…"

Elizabeth interrupted Frank, she didn't want him to feel guilty.

"Don't apologize, I'm happy I got to sing for you, I'm glad you liked it"

Although Elizabeth continued shedding tears, she managed to smile. It was hard for her, but she felt content that she got to share a part of herself with Frank.

Frank wiped away Elizabeth's tears and gave her a big hug until she felt better. He continued comforting her as he took hold of her hand and kissed her thimble. Even though Elizabeth couldn't physically feel it, it was a sweet gesture from Frank that she felt on the inside.

Frank was getting ready to go, but after several unsuccessful attempts to call a cab, he gave up and decided he was going to walk home. Elizabeth didn't want him going home so late at night on foot, it started storming heavily and was quite a walk. She told Frank that he was going stay the night and would not negotiate to let him do otherwise. Frank was reluctant, but he agreed to do so. Things became more intimate when Elizabeth refused to let him sleep on the couch, and implored that she was fine sharing her bed with him, which had more than enough room for the both of them. Frank, who knew Elizabeth could be stubborn, conceded and accepted her kind offer, although it was more like a caring demand.

Frank sat in the living room in his t-shirt and boxers as Elizabeth was changing in her room. It was a little awkward for him, knowing he would be in front of Elizabeth in his current attire, but she assured him it was okay. Frank heard Elizabeth call him in to let him know she was done changing. He came in and saw Elizabeth getting her bed ready for both of them, she looked cozy and adorable in her pajamas. As they settled into bed, Elizabeth checked on Frank to make sure he was comfortable.

"Is it too warm in here?"

"No, it's fine"

Elizabeth saw that Frank was noticeably anxious, so she reached over and gently rubbed his back.

"It's okay Frankie, you don't need to be nervous"

"I've never shared a bed with a woman before. I mean I kind of did, but, um…not like this…"

"Well now you are, it's not so bad is it?"

"Yeah"

"Alright, Goodnight"

"Goodnight"

Elizabeth shared a goodnight kiss with Frank as she turned off the lights, both of them laid down and got under the covers. It didn't take long for Frank to get comfortable alongside Elizabeth, and soon after they drifted off to sleep.

Later that night, Frank woke up, he could feel that something was off. He began to notice Elizabeth's apartment starting to change, with things appearing in front of his eyes. It was a mixture of things. One minute, he found himself in a city in the sky, the next, a city underwater. Disfigured people everywhere, a man in a sweater with chains tattooed on his wrists, surrounded by creepy little girls. A big hulking robot with a drill for a hand, a giant bird monster, brief flashes of one crazy thing after another. As the worlds spiraled around him, he was suddenly thrust into a room. A woman whose face is hidden in shadow was being tortured right in front of his eyes. First, she was strapped to a gurney, while impaled in the back with some sort of device and electrocuted. Next, she was tied to a chair as a man is hammering a pick into her eye. Frank wasn't sure why, but he knew he needed to help her, but it's as if an invisible wall keeps him at bay and prevents him from stopping the madness. He wants it to stop, he begs for it to stop, but the woman's pain and suffering goes on for what feels like an eternity. Then, he found himself in a hallway. He presses on and finds the woman; she is dead, her body slumped against a massive window overlooking the underwater city, her face still hidden in shadow as a scary child attempts to comfort her. Just as Frank was about to reach her, she's gone. He turns around and sees a figure dragging her off into the distance, as the hallway stretches out into what looked like a bombed out apocalyptic wasteland. He tries to go after her, he can't catch up, it's as if time has slowed down around him. Frank was trapped, stuck in a nightmare; a nightmare from not that long ago.

Frank reached the end of his bad dream when he awoke to Elizabeth screaming in her sleep, her hands in front of her face as she tried to fend off whatever was plaguing her own nightmares as she screamed two names Frank had never heard her mention at any point since they first met.

"BOOKER! STEPHEN! NO! NO! PLEASE! PLEASE DON'T LEAVE ME!"

Frank turned on the light and called out for Elizabeth, holding and shaking her until she finally woke up, freeing her from the prison her mind had created. Elizabeth looked around in a frightened and confused state as Frank tried to calm her down.

"Calm down, calm down, calm down, it's me, it's me"

Frank kept repeating himself as Elizabeth regained her senses.

"I'm sorry, I was having a nightmare"

"Alright, alright, calm down. What happened, what were you dreaming about?"

"I was dreaming about things from my past, things that still haunt me, things I haven't told you"

"Okay, okay. Was your dream about someone important? When you were shouting, you were yelling two peoples names. Elizabeth; who are Booker and Stephen?"

Frank was rightfully confused about who Elizabeth was screaming for, he wanted to know more about them.

"They were people I knew. Earlier when I was singing it made me think of them…I…I…I'm sorry I can't tell you…"

Frank watched as Elizabeth's calm nature turned into tears of pain, he held her close and soothed her, feeling her let everything out as she cried.

"It's okay, it's okay, everything's okay. You're here, okay, take it easy"

Frank hugged Elizabeth until she calmed down, and continued to hold her long after the fact.

"Do you…do you think you could stay up with me for a while?"

Elizabeth was embarrassed about having to ask Frank for such a thing, she was still shaken up from her nightmare.

"Yeah, yeah"

Elizabeth and Frank laid down in bed, closer to each other than earlier as he ran his hand through her hair.

"I'm sorry, today was supposed to be perfect"

Elizabeth felt bad about keeping Frank awake, she felt like she ruined the entire day.

"It was perfect, I had such an amazing day today. Relax, okay, just relax. Close your eyes and go back to sleep. I'm right here, I'm not going anywhere"

"Thank you, Frankie, for everything"

"It's fine. Thanks for today. Thanks for having me over, I'm glad I got to stay over tonight"

Frank knew he was with Elizabeth for a reason, specifically tonight as he lay next to her to keep her company, comforting her until she was finally asleep. But this was just the beginning; this was just an introduction of Elizabeth's past creeping up from the dark shadows of her mind and taking its toll on both her and Frank.

 **Authors Note: Lyrics have been taken from the public domain and are used under fair use.**


	4. Chapter 4

September 23rd, 2013, Elizabeth and Frank returned to her place after a night out, she wanted to reveal the big surprise she had for him. Elizabeth entered the living room with a blue bikini with white trim in hand, it was only part of her surprise.

"Oh, that looks nice"

Frank commented on Elizabeth's new swimwear.

"Well, you're going to see me wearing this in two weeks, because we…"

Elizabeth pulled out two tickets from her pocket and showed them to Frank.

"…are going to California for my birthday!"

"…oh…"

Frank was taken back, although he didn't seem to share the same enthusiasm as Elizabeth.

"Oh?"

"I, um, no this is great, it's just, um…"

Elizabeth remembered specific details of Frank's history that he told her about when they first started dating. Several years ago he moved to California to be with a girl, but was forced to come home when things didn't work out. It was easy to see why her surprise made him feel uncomfortable. Elizabeth sat next to Frank on the couch, she tried to comfort him and let him know everything would be okay.

"Frankie, I know what happened to you, but I'm going to help you forget all about it. And, we aren't just stopping at one location. We're going to visit different cities"

"But what if we run into her?"

Elizabeth put her arm around Frank's shoulder.

"The odds of us running into her are hundred-to-one. We'll be fine, you'll be fine. We're going to have a good time and you're going to forget all about what you went through; I promise"

October 29th, 2013, it had been almost three weeks since Elizabeth and Frank returned home from sightseeing in California. What should have been an amazing vacation ended on a bad note when both of them ran into someone from Frank's past, someone they crossed paths with despite Elizabeth's hundred-to-one claim, someone who angered Elizabeth to the point where she couldn't control hurting her; that person was an old love interest of Frank, Callie.

Frank and Elizabeth had found a restaurant to eat at, a movie-themed establishment, and all seemed to be going well; until Callie stepped through the door. At first, Frank noticed her, hoping she wouldn't notice him, but he caught her eye. She looked as if she was pondering where she had seen this man before, and then just as quickly, her expression changed to complete awe as she recognized and remembered him. Frank, in a complete panic, implored that they should leave before things escalated, so Elizabeth obliged. As they tried to leave the restaurant, they were chased by Callie into the parking lot as she grabbed Frank by the arm, forcing their attention.

This was the first time Elizabeth had ever seen Callie, she was actually in front of them, face to face. Callie was attractive, but she was also incredibly unpleasant. Elizabeth couldn't believe Frank had developed feelings for her in the past, but she remembered how he said she manipulated and lied to him. As Elizabeth tried to step in, Frank attempted to control the situation. She watched the hurt in his eyes as Callie antagonized Frank. She called him weak, told him he shouldn't have come back to California, and how she was happier without him. When Callie turned her attention towards Elizabeth, then began the lies, lies about how Frank had abused her, and how he would still contact her to tell her he was still in love and wanted her back. Elizabeth assured Frank she knew it wasn't true as he begged her not to listen. As they were leaving, Callie hurled an insult at Elizabeth for refusing to go along with her allegations; she called her a little whore.

Elizabeth froze, her skin burning red, tears running down from her eyes. It wasn't the first time she was called a little whore. A horrible, disgusting, evil man had used those words. What followed those words were actions that destroyed her life. It was all Elizabeth could take, Callie's sociopathic aggressive nature and the thoughts of what she had done to Frank in his past, mixed in with that one moment she had endured in her lifetime; it was all she could take before she completely lost control and decided to shut Callie up for her sake, and Frank's.

WHAM! One shot. Callie was down. Elizabeth overpowered Callie as she punched her in the face several times, her blows were sloppy but effective, with the last shot breaking her nose. Elizabeth wasn't finished, she followed it up by putting Callie in an armlock, almost breaking her arm as she lay face down on the pavement. Despite her screaming, crying, and her rage; Elizabeth remembered every word she said.

"He loved you! And you abandoned him! You lied to him! Manipulated and used him! And then left him all alone when you were done hurting him! Did you get what you wanted!? Huh!? Apologize to him! Apologize!"

But Callie wouldn't apologize, she couldn't, she was incapable of empathy and remorse, something Frank figured out a long time ago. He begged Elizabeth to stop as he tried to pull her off of Callie, to see reason and understand that she was sick and didn't understand what she had done was wrong. Frank eventually calmed Elizabeth down, but the damage had already been done. After settling with the police on the spot, they were in the clear, one of the cops even joked about how he wished he had a rich girlfriend that would punch out some of his ex's. Surprisingly, Callie decided not to press charges. She may have been sick in the head, but Elizabeth knew deep down that Callie was able to sense something, dark, about her, something Callie had enough common sense in her twisted brain not to tamper with. Besides, she would probably go on to lie to all her friends about how she single-handedly took down the two of them.

From taxi cabs to the plane ride, Frank was quiet the whole time they were returning home, it wasn't until they got there that they were at each other's throats and arguing. Elizabeth remembered what she said to Frank, and how she hurt him.

"I was trying to help you!"

"By taking me to the one place I didn't wanna go and hurting the one person I didn't wanna see!? How was that supposed to help me!?"

"She deserved it! Why can't you see that!?"

"Because I know it's wrong!"

"You know!? What do you know!? Half the time you hardly understand anything!"

"What do you mean by that?"

"You know EXACTLY what I mean! What, do need help figuring it out like you need help with the big words in those books you've struggled to read!?"

As soon as those words left Elizabeth's mouth, she immediately regretted it. But it was too late to take it back, she could see how upset Frank was as he stormed out of her apartment without saying a word.

One week later and Elizabeth hadn't heard from Frank. She had apologized to him numerous times over his answering machine for the harsh things she said to him after they argued over what happened, but she knew it wasn't enough, she knew why he was upset with her. Elizabeth had kept her past a secret, only giving vague explanations about things that happened in her life. She knew Frank wanted to know more, it was in his nature, but he tried to be as respectful as possible of her wishes. But this, this was too far, and she knew Frank sensed that it was her past that brought about what she did. But, Elizabeth wanted to tell Frank the truth. The issue wasn't that it was too hard for her to talk about it, but if Frank would think she was crazy after sharing the pain, misfortune, and insanity that lead her to the life she now had with him. She was caught between a rock and a hard place, a situation where if she laid all her cards on the table she could fold regardless of what hand she played. She was at risk of losing him if she didn't open up to him and could still lose him if she did. She couldn't lose Frank, she had already lost enough, what could she do.

Elizabeth's phone rang, she checked the caller ID, it was Frank. She wasn't sure what to say, so she allowed it to go to her answering machine.

"Hey, it's Frank. Um, listen um, I'm sorry I haven't spoken to you. I uh, I needed time to think. But I'm okay now. I uh, um, I'm really glad we got to go on vacation, thank you. Uh, I wanna see you again, if that's okay, so um, yeah. Call me back if you want. Take care"

Elizabeth broke down crying, she felt horrible. Even after everything she did, Frank was the one apologizing. But this was a sign, she needed to call him back so they could meet and patch things up.

October 30th, 2013, Frank was early as usual at their favorite diner, he was listening to music on his phone when Elizabeth finally arrived. She was extremely happy to see Frank after one week had gone by. But she needed to be careful, he was probably still hurt over what she had said and done. Elizabeth came over and Frank stood up from the booth as they hugged each other. They sat down and told the waitress they would need time to think, which allowed Frank to cut straight to it.

"I'm sorry I haven't been speaking to you"

"You don't have to apologize"

Elizabeth understood why Frank wouldn't want to speak to her after she crossed the line with her words.

"I do. I uh, um, I know we're both new to this whole relationship thing, but we were both wrong with how we handled everything; both of us"

Elizabeth nodded.

"But do you understand why this has been hard for me?"

"I know there is a lot you don't know about me, and I know why you would be upset because of it. Someone who was important to me once said that I can never forget or wash away the things I've done, that all I can do is learn to live with it. In the past I tried and…"

Elizabeth stopped herself before she revealed anything.

"I thought if I could help you with your past…maybe I'd hurt less from mine"

"But what am I supposed to do? Huh? You know I, I wanna work this out but can I be sure you're never going to have another outburst again? Or, or should I just be okay with your anger despite not knowing what you're angry about because you won't tell me?"

Frank could sense this would become a pattern if not addressed and resolved in some fashion.

"No, I will not use my past as a crutch for what I did. I was wrong. I am so sorry about what I said to you, what I've done, how everything turned out. I never should have attacked Callie regardless of how horrible she was, or come after you verbally and try to purposefully hurt and belittle you. My harsh response was me being defensive because of…"

Elizabeth stopped herself once more.

"…Frankie, I don't want to hurt you; but I don't know if I'll ever move on from the past, not by myself"

"So what do you wanna do?"

"I don't know if this pain will ever go away…but you at least deserve to know what is causing it. I don't know when, I need to plan out what I'm going to say but I promise, I will tell you everything about who I am before this year is over. I, I just don't want you to hate me right now…"

Elizabeth tried to hold herself together, she was afraid she would embarrass Frank by crying in public.

Frank took hold of Elizabeth's hands and tried to comfort her.

"Elizabeth; I don't hate you. I meant what I said on the phone, alright? Things got screwed up but I really did have a good time, you know? I'm so happy that you went out of your way to take me on a vacation. I understand what you were trying to do and I appreciate it. You know, up until what happened I never once thought of Callie; all I could think about was how lucky I was to be spending time with you. I'm still sorry that I haven't been speaking to you, I wanna spend more time with you. After we eat do you wanna go back to your place? I can stay over, keep you company. Tomorrow we can order out and watch crappy horror movies on Netflix for Halloween; do you wanna do that?"

"Okay…"

Elizabeth nodded her head, before covering her face as she broke down crying. Frank wasn't embarrassed in the slightest about Elizabeth crying in front of everyone, he didn't care who was looking. Frank stood up, helped Elizabeth out of her seat and held her as she cried into his shoulder, holding her close as he whispered reassurance in her ear.

"It's okay, alright, everything's gonna be okay. We're gonna figure this out together"

Clinging tightly to Frank, Elizabeth was filled with a mixture of relief and regret. She missed him and was happy to be in his arms again, but she also felt horrible about what she had said and done to him.

Elizabeth didn't know how or when, but she was going to make things right. She would be true to her word, she vowed that before the year was over she would come clean about everything; she was going to tell Frank the truth about her past.


	5. Chapter 5

December 31st, 2013, Elizabeth and Frank sat in her living room, watching the ball drop for New Years, only an hour and a half to go. It had been almost two months since Elizabeth made a promise to herself to do the most difficult thing she had ever done in her relationship with Frank; tell him the truth about her past. Elizabeth felt Frank wipe away her tears as she collected herself, remembering everything she hoped to repress and move on from.

"Elizabeth it's okay, you don't need to do this"

Frank assured Elizabeth that she didn't need to revisit bad memories.

"Yes I do, you deserve to know the truth, and I can't keep running away from who I am. All I ask is you hear me out until the end before you pass judgment. If you are horrified by what I've done or been through, or if you don't believe me; I'll understand if you wish to leave and never speak to me again…"

"Elizabeth…"

"Frankie, it's okay. It's time; I'm ready"

Elizabeth felt, indeed, knew she had to tell Frank the truth.

Elizabeth started by explaining that her birth name was Anna DeWitt and that she was born in 1893 in New York City. She goes on and tells Frank that when she was a baby she was sold off by her father, Booker DeWitt, in order to clear his debts. Booker tried to back out on the deal, only for Elizabeth to lose her pinkie during a struggle to get her back. In an otherworldly twist, the man she was sold to was another version of Booker named Zachery Hale Comstock, his counterpart from an alternate universe, and she was imprisoned in a city in the sky called Columbia until she was ready to be groomed as Comstock's heir. She was to fulfill his prophecy and cleanse the world in fire, something she was responsible for in an alternate timeline after succumbing to torture and mental conditioning. Elizabeth describes in detail of her ability to manipulate tears, a tear is a rip in dimensional time and space, revealing an alternate universe, it was an ability that was long gone. She further explains the facts about alternate universes, and how her father was sent to Columbia in 1912 by two sibling scientist, the Luteces, to rescue her, so they could be together again. He was unable to remember that she was his daughter, due to his mind creating memories where none existed in the world he occupied. She tried to spare Frank too many details about the people Booker had to kill, and how she was forced to kill as well. In the end, Booker found out the truth and returned to the point in time of Comstock's "birth" and chose to die so Comstock could never be born. However, despite Columbia and previous variations of herself being erased from existence, it also created a paradox. All of the memories, thoughts, and emotions of every variation of Elizabeth collapsed onto her, while she still remained in existence; omnipotence and all.

Elizabeth continues, in 1958, she traveled to the underwater city of Rapture, created and founded by business magnate Andrew Ryan. She went to Rapture to exact further revenge on one of the Comstock's that escaped her purge and was responsible for the death of an infant version of herself. She used a girl named Sally to lure him out, exploiting her for her own personal gain, just as Comstock had done to her. She goes on a somewhat complicated exposition about how she traveled back to save Sally due to the guilt of leaving her to die, losing her omnipotence and tear manipulation, but she gained her pinkie back in the process. She explains how Sally was taken by Frank Fontaine, a criminal who faked his death and returned under the guise of a revolutionary leader named Atlas. The conclusion to her horrific tale was how she overcame incredible odds. From surviving Splicers, people who were driven insane and disfigured from the misuse of a genetic drug called ADAM, to Elizabeth having to endure painstaking and mental torture. In the end, Elizabeth succeeded, only to lose her own life in the process of setting forward a chain of events that would ensure Sally's safety. But the hardest part to tell Frank was how in the end, she would get what she wanted with her death; as part of her wanted to die.

Only an hour left till the ball drops. Frank comforted Elizabeth as she wept and sobbed; both in a mixture of pain, and embarrassment over how he must have felt about her.

"I'm sorry, you must think I'm crazy"

Elizabeth found it difficult to speak, she hadn't cried this hard in a long time.

"I don't think you're crazy, you're not crazy, I believe you"

Frank took Elizabeth's hands as he had done so many times, kissing them along with her thimble. Everything Elizabeth talked about seemed familiar to Frank.

"I don't understand, how can you sit there and listen to me and not think it's some kind of schizophrenic psycho-babble?"

Confusion set in for Elizabeth over Frank's sincerity.

"You mentioned two sibling scientists? Were they man and a woman?"

"Yes, how could you possibly know that?"

Frank knew it was time to tell Elizabeth the secrets he was keeping.

April 29th, 2013, Frank woke up in a cold sweat, he had been having recurring nightmares for the past three days, and it always played out the same. The same two cities, the same series of events, the same dead woman being dragged off. It was becoming a hassle, so much that it interfered with a date he had the night before. Frank met a really pretty girl named Alisa, and he knew they had a lot in common. He decided to ask her out and to his surprise, she said yes, but his effort would prove to be futile. Not only did he arrive an hour late, but he was so distracted that he completely botched the entire date. Even after he tried to salvage the date, Alisa made it clear that she had no interest in pursuing things further. Frank hadn't known Alisa long, but it still didn't feel good to get rejected.

It was early, the sun was pretty much up and Frank needed to clear his head, so he figured he'd grab an early breakfast somewhere close by. After getting dressed, he exited his apartment and locked his door, at the end of the hallway he saw two people, a set of twins, a brother, and sister, dressed eerily similar in style. They appeared as if they almost didn't belong there, in several ways.

"Tis better to have loved and lost…"

The sister, who spoke with a British accent, was interrupted by the brother, who also had a British accent.

"Than never to have loved at all…"

"Excuse me?"

Frank was perplexed, who were these people. They continued to speak, the brother starting off as they went back and forth.

"He seems to have noticed us…"

"He has…"

"Should we tell him?…"

"That _she_ will be coming?…"

"Yes…"

"I suppose, but it won't do much for him now…"

"How so?…"

"He has just begun to feel rejection…"

"Would it help if he knew the truth?…"

"If he knew the truth then he wouldn't be able to play his part…"

"His part?…"

"His part in the play…"

"Ah yes; consider this Act one…"

"Act two will begin soon enough…"

"What are you talking about? Who are you?"

Frank was getting agitated by the twins, it appeared as if they were taunting him. The sister started off with her brother in tow.

"You will learn in time…"

"But not about us, perhaps later on…"

"Indeed, but you will learn about _her_ , in time…"

"Her?"

Frank questioned their vagueness. The brother continued as his sister finished his sentences and so on.

"Yes _her_ , but which part of the play will you learn about _her_?…"

"Act three?…"

"four?…"

"five?…"

"Perhaps it is best if we don't spoil any more of the plot for him…"

"Until then, chin up…"

"And remember; things will get better, in time…"

"Alright, you know what, I'm calling the cops!"

Frank went to open the door, only to fumble with his keys and drop them.

"God dammit! Who the hell are…"

Frank turned back over to address the twins; only to discover they were gone.

December 31st, 2013, Frank finished telling Elizabeth of the events that occurred several months ago. She couldn't believe it, even after sharing her past with him. Frank had kept the incident of the dreams and the disappearing strangers a secret, until now. For now he had found the right person to share it with. That right person, was _her_ ; Elizabeth.

"You know I've wanted to tell you that for a while, but I thought you'd think I was crazy; Thank you"

Elizabeth started to calm down, processing what Frank had told her. Her crying turned somewhat into laughter, a mixture of relief and irony that she never truly escaped to a normal life. How even after all this time of adapting, mimicking, and pretending, she found someone who experienced just as much as she did, even if it was minimal. With Elizabeth somewhat calm, Frank decided to ask her more about her story.

"So in another reality in 1959 you, died?"

"Yes"

"I'm sorry I…"

A pit formed in Frank's chest over the idea Elizabeth being dead.

"It's okay Frankie"

Elizabeth placed a hand on Frank's arm, comforting him, she could tell that fact made him uneasy. Frank however did want some answers.

"So how are you alive? How are you here?"

Elizabeth had another story to tell. Even though her previous tale ended with her death; it was just the beginning of the events that would unfold.


	6. Chapter 6 - Part 2

October 8th, 2289, Elizabeth woke up in a brightly lit room, terrified, confused, naked, where was she and how did she get there. Her memories of what happened prior slowly coming together to form what lead up to her final moments. She tried to stand up on both feet, only to wobble back and forth and fall down once more. Unable to stand, she crawled on the ground and found her way to a wall, leaning against it, trying to collect herself and figure out what was happening. Upon further inspection, despite her dazed and frightened state, Elizabeth realized she wasn't leaning against a wall, but a machine of some kind, what was this? She was caught off guard as she heard squeaks and creaking, she looked over to see a door opening. A man in a white hazmat suit emerged, standing in the doorway. Elizabeth cowered in fear, covering herself up, not knowing what was going on, or what would happen next.

"Hi, Elizabeth? That's your name right?"

The man spoke in a grizzled voice, somewhat muffled behind the hazmat suit mask. Elizabeth was still suffering from shock, all she could do was force herself to nod in response.

"Hi Elizabeth, I'm Dr. Stephen Wright. I imagine you're wondering what's going on, it's not every day someone is brought back from the dead. The disorientation should wear off in a couple of minutes and you should be able to stand and walk. Your clothes were bloody and in tatters, so I thought it would be best to remove them, I assure you those were my only intentions. There's a fresh set of clothes in the locker outside of this room, they should fit. I'll make you some dinner if you're hungry and I've also set up a more personal room for you, it's two doors down from when you exit the lab. Take as much time as you need. I assure you I mean no harm, and I'll happily answer any questions you have"

As the man walked off, Elizabeth laid her head on the ground and closed her eyes as she let out a sigh; she didn't know whether she should be afraid or relieved.

An hour later, Elizabeth was in a fresh set of clothes, although fresh was a lack of a better word. The t-shirt and jeans she wore appeared to be somewhat aged, although her new style did go along with her hair that was matted and messy. The rooms and corridors themselves, while some of them seemed to hold things of scientific and technological importance were covered in grime, mold, and rust, years of neglect piled up on the walls and floors. Despite the condition of where she was, she was starving, so she gave in and accepted Dr. Wright's offer to have dinner. Elizabeth found herself sitting across from Dr. Wright at a table, she was in some kind of rec room as she continued eating her meal of what appeared to be steak, along with a soda branded Nuka Cola.

"Do you like it?"

"It's, very good"

Elizabeth was trying to be modest, but the food she was provided wasn't exactly the best.

"It's okay, I know I'm not a chef, but I cook what I can"

Elizabeth went quiet, before deciding to try and get some answers.

"Could you tell me what's going on? Are we still in Rapture?"

"Rapture? Like the biblical prophecy?"

"What? No, the city, Rapture"

"Rapture the city?…I've been around for a long time never heard of a city called Rapture. You aren't from around here, are you? I have a feeling that you're new to this whole world. I know about quantum physics and inter-dimensional travel. And in this world, or any world, a lot is possible. You're from another universe, another plane of existence in time and space, aren't you?"

"You could say that"

"Something told me I was correct. Alright, guess I should start from the beginning"

Dr. Wright explained that it was October 8th, 2289 and that they currently reside in an old underground lab underneath what was once Washington DC, now known as the Capital Wasteland after an event called the resources war caused global fallout from nuclear warfare on October 23rd, 2077. He had been studying and doing research into the possibilities of reanimation. Last month, he received the schematics for what could be described as a machine that could reanimate people after short-term death, based off of something called a Vita-Chamber. A week ago he finished the machine, reconfigured for long-term death, and what most people would call a coincidence, he received two dead bodies that appeared to be twins. It wasn't until later he found out they were the same person, Elizabeth. He was able to use both remains to create a strong enough genetic structure that the machine could read, the rest Elizabeth could figure out.

Elizabeth tried to piece together everything Dr. Wright was saying, it seemed unreal, even with everything she experienced during her time in Columbia and Rapture.

"Who sent you my bodies?"

"They were dropped off at the entrance to the faculty a few days ago, there was a note attached, it said " _Take good care of Elizabeth._ _Sincerely, R L_ " it was obvious to assume that was your name. Do you know who R L is? Is that a friend of yours?"

Elizabeth knew of only one person with those initials, two of them to be exact. They hadn't forgotten about her, but she could never figure out what they truly wanted during the events that unfolded.

"I'm not sure, I've never been sure about their intentions"

"Their?"

"Yeah, a man and a woman, twins. It's complicated"

"Oh, huh"

When Elizabeth tried to make eye contact, she noticed Dr. Wright was still wearing the hazmat suit from earlier.

"Why are you still wearing that?"

"I, well…"

"What's wrong?"

"I don't want to frighten you"

Elizabeth thought maybe Dr. Wright was self-conscious, or maybe there was something more to him, so she tried to push him into revealing his appearance.

"Let me see you, please"

Dr. Wright was hesitant, but eventually he removed his helmet. Underneath he looked decrepit, rotting, almost like a zombie. His skin was a desaturated shade of light brown, his eyes were red and his irides were pus-colored, he had no hair, and above all, his nose was missing.

Elizabeth put a hand to her mouth and gasped, more frightened of the state he was in as opposed to his appearance.

"Oh my god I'm, I…"

Elizabeth knew her reaction to Dr. Wright's appearance was rude and yet found it difficult to muster an apology.

"It's fine, you get used to it. I was going to tell you but, yeah"

Dr. Wright explained his current state. He was over two hundred and thirty years old and lived before the war. The nuclear fallout slowed down his aging process but left him in the current state he was in. They called it; Ghoulification, and were called Ghouls for short.

"Does it hurt?"

Elizabeth was curious about Dr. Wright's condition.

"No, no. When it starts you feel the changes, your hair falling out, things falling off, but it doesn't hurt"

Dr. Wright's mouth formed a crude smile.

"So where are you from? You mentioned a place called Rapture? Both of your bodies were in pretty rough shape when I got them, what happened to you? How did you split into two people?"

Dr. Wright was curious about how Elizabeth wound up in the state she was in.

"I don't want to talk about it"

Elizabeth may have owed Dr. Wright for bringing her back, but she felt that he wasn't owed an explanation for how she died, she didn't even know anything about him or who he was.

"Fair enough"

Dr. Wright didn't mean to pry.

Elizabeth continued eating her meal, only to discover an irregularity she thought had been fixed; her pinkie was missing once more. When Elizabeth explained her deformity was not a mishap by the machine, Dr. Wright explains that he does not know why her pinkie didn't return. Despite the return of her deformity, her ability to see and manipulate tears had not returned either. Dr. Wright got up and opened up a drawer near the table, taking out Elizabeth's thimble that was still on her previous body, which he was more than happy to return to her. He also had both of Elizabeth's brooches from each of her bodies, she wasn't sure what to do with the extra one, so she let Dr. Wright hold onto it.

"So, what happens now?"

Elizabeth put her bird cameo brooch back around her neck and slipped her thimble back on her missing pinkie, it was good to have her deformity covered up once more. In a way having a pinkie on her right hand felt stranger than missing one.

"Well, I suggest you get some rest. Tomorrow I have to run some tests, check to make sure everything came together and is in order"

Elizabeth was still somewhat woozy, she didn't like taking orders but she knew she wasn't going anywhere.

Later that night, Elizabeth had trouble falling asleep on the war-torn mattress she was provided, but she guessed the world she now inhabited could only offer so much. Tomorrow would be a new day, for now, she would keep her guard up until she could figure out whether or not she could leave after Dr. Wright got what he needed. Elizabeth buried part of her face in her pillow, she felt like she wanted to cry but was unable to. She knew Rapture was a one-way ticket, she knew and yet she pressed forward. Her march down that dark hallway wasn't just to save Sally, she knew she would never be able to live a normal life, and so she returned to Rapture to help grant her what she wanted; she wanted to die. The whole thing felt like a bad joke, just another rib for Elizabeth in what she considered was a bleak and miserable life she lived. It seemed like only two hours ago she welcomed her wish for death and went out with a whimper, but she went out with a smile on her face. And yet, the punchline was that she was alive again, she was alive with this, thing, whatever Dr. Wright was.

Maybe someone would come and save her, but even that was doubtful. She had been all alone in the depths of Rapture, what chance did she have of a savior coming to rescue her in this bombed out, radiation filled capital of what was once a thriving city that ran a prosperous country. A country that became so big on itself that it decided to blow up the rest of the world while it retaliated back, or maybe, it was the other way around, no one knew who launched the first nuke that started it all. But perhaps the biggest joke of all was when she looked up some of the world's history on a terminal in her room. Before the war, the United States was split into thirteen commonwealths. By coincidence, or as a further slap in the face, Washington DC was originally a part of what was called the Columbia Commonwealth; it would be hilarious if it wasn't so sad.

Elizabeth remembered calling Fontaine a rube after Andrew Ryan claimed she was one; now she couldn't help but wonder if she really was the rube after all.

She closed her eyes and thought back to the events that brought her here, specifically the end. She remembered Booker, her Booker, and imagined him with Anna, with her. She was still filled with regret of drowning her only friend, her father, even though that's what he wanted. The thought of her and Booker living a normal life somewhere helped lessen the load of her pain. And then she remembered Sally, a fatal blow from Fontaine's wrench triggered visions of his Ace in the Hole, Andrew Ryan's son; Jack Ryan. She saw him coming to save the Little Sisters and Sally from exploitation and death. When Elizabeth came back to reality in that dark hallway, Sally was right there; comforting her and helping her find peace in her final moments as everything went dark, and her mind let go of what should have been her final thought. She reached deep back to that moment, trying to imagine Sally and the rest of the children grown up and given the chance to learn, to find love; to live.

As Elizabeth drifted off to sleep, a single tear finally escaped her eye, and a smile grew on her face; it was the first time she smiled since she drew what she thought would be her last breath.


	7. Chapter 7

October 9th, 2289, Dr. Wright, who was now wearing a lab coat instead of a hazmat suit, continued examining Elizabeth for any irregularities. From brain scans to x-rays, to simple physical examinations like having her look up and down, raising her arms, or tapping her knee for reflexes, everything that could be done to test Elizabeth checked out despite her ragged appearance during what could only be described as her rebirth; except for one thing.

"Are you a doctor as well as a scientist?"

"Didn't start as one. I've been around a long time, picked up a lot of things over the years"

Dr. Wright continued checking things and writing things down on his clipboard.

"So?"

"Everything checks out, you're completely healthy, but…"

Dr. Wright didn't know how to tell Elizabeth what he discovered.

"What?"

"I'm not sure if there was a complication with the reanimation process, or if at some point down the road in your lifetime you suffered from an accident or birth defect. But, there's a problem with your uterus, your womb. You're infertile, you won't be able to have children"

"Are you sure?"

"I ran through the tests multiple times, checked everything twice, three times, I'm sorry"

Elizabeth wasn't sure how to feel, with everything she had been through, the thought of having children of her own never crossed her mind. She found it hard to care about herself, and now that she knew she would never be able to conceive a child, she didn't feel happy, sad, or angry. With everything she had been through, she felt nothing, almost empty.

"Hey, hey, hey, you okay?"

Dr. Wright noticed Elizabeth was in a daze and helped her snap out of it.

"Huh? Yeah, I think I'm going to step outside and get some fresh air"

"Well, you're going to have to travel far for that, forget what I told you about the nuclear fallout? But I guess I should still show you. I have some Rad-X and Rad-Away, they individually suppress and wash out radiation from your system, you're gonna need it"

Dr. Wright leads Elizabeth to the entrance, armed with what appeared to be a Laser Rifle, he punched in a code in the terminal to open the front entrance and allow them through.

"If I see anybody or anything I don't recognize you go back inside and lock the door via security terminal, do exactly as I say, no questions asked, understand?"

"I can take care of myself"

Dr. Wright remembered everything Elizabeth told him, he wanted to comment on how if she could take care of herself she wouldn't have gotten killed. Holding his tongue, Dr. Wright opened the door, leading Elizabeth to the outside, or what remained of it.

Elizabeth's vision adjusted to the sun as she laid her eyes on her surroundings, buildings reduced to rubble, things resembling what were once vehicles and trees scattered around and burned. Even after ingesting the Rad-X, the air still felt hot, thick, and toxic, she felt like she was going to lose her lunch from the day before. The name Capital Wasteland wasn't just a name, it truly felt like a wasteland. How anybody could live and survive in this environment would be beyond comprehension to anybody else. But to Elizabeth, with everything she had seen and been through, it didn't come as that much of a surprise that a universe like this could exist somehow.

"Years ago, a water purification project called Project Purity ensured that the Capital Wasteland would have an endless supply of clean drinking water. But, you still need to be careful when traversing any area. People like me, Ghouls, we aren't affected by lingering radiation, and most of the population have adjusted to it over the last century, for the most part. But you, I can tell the atmosphere would take its toll on you. Weather conditions aside, you have people out here who never adjusted to the equivalent of modern living in the Capital Wasteland. Raiders, Slavers, Maniacs, sometimes a combination of the three, sometimes worse. Then there are the creatures that are not so human. Giant insects, Giant crabs, Giant mole rats. You have Super Mutants and Death Claws and while they have become a rare sight, they aren't something you wish to run into. And of course, there are my kind, Ghouls, but the ones who's brains rotted away years ago and have gone completely insane. We call them Feral Ghouls and they will attack anyone and anything, except each other, and other Ghouls like me. That's only scratching the surface, the bottom line is, I'd rather you not go out and explore it for yourself"

Dr. Wright and Elizabeth headed back inside before she got sicker, and after ingesting some Rad-Away and drinking clean water, she felt a little better. Elizabeth knew she couldn't stay there, she still didn't know this, man, if she could call him that, or if he was telling the truth. Regardless of the state of the outside world, she needed to be patient and wait for the perfect opportunity to leave.

Later that night, Dr. Wright woke up to use the bathroom, only to notice something was off. Upon further inspection, he saw his lab door was open, and that someone had rummaged through his supply closet, his box of his own special crafted Rad-X was gone.

"You've gotta be kidding me"

Dr. Wright let out a sigh and held a hand to his temple in frustration; Elizabeth was gone and had taken some of his stuff.

Out in the Capital Wasteland, Elizabeth traversed the burnt out plain of what used to be Washington DC, remnants of the past stood out from abandoned and blown out buildings. She knew what was to become of Rapture following her actions when she was there, she couldn't help but think about it. Seeing the state this world was in, reminded her of what she set in motion, the fate of thousands dead or being driven insane, trapped inside what was once considered to be a shining jewel at the bottom of the ocean. Thousands of people, buried at sea; where she was supposed to be resting eternally among the dead.

Elizabeth's thoughts were interrupted as she felt someone grab her, she tried to struggle but it was no use. Two more men emerged from the shadows, their hair slicked up in bizarre styles and their faces painted up, their clothes worn out and covered in padding for protection. These were Raiders, and Elizabeth had the misfortune of running into them unarmed. The Raider who grabbed Elizabeth turned her towards him, holding her by her neck as he leaned in and licked her face.

"You taste good, I bet your cunt tastes even better!"

Elizabeth kneed the Raider in the groin as she tried to escape, only to be tackled by another Raider. He held her down as she kicked and thrashed, he had all the leverage he needed, holding her down with one hand and brandishing a large kitchen knife in the other; it was clear him and his friends were going to have their way with her.

"I'm gonna kill you, and then, me and my pals are gonna take turns fucking you!"

BANG! A loud gunshot echoed out of nowhere, the Raiders face explodes, covering Elizabeth with blood as his lifeless body collapses on top of her. Elizabeth hears screaming and more gunfire, another one of the Raiders collapses across from her, wounded, howling and holding his gut in pain. She struggled to pull herself free from the corpse that had her pinned, she sees the last Raider dead on the ground. Her savior was wielding a pistol and standing over the Raiders lifeless body; it was Dr. Wright. As he approached the last Raider, he watched him hold his hand out, hoping for mercy.

"Wait! Wait wait wait! Please…let's just…talk this ou…"

BANG! The Raiders sentence was cut off, as the top of his head was almost blown off from the gunshot.

"…No"

Dr. Wright responded to the man's corpse well after the fact. He turned his attention to Elizabeth, he was annoyed, almost angry at her for stealing his supplies and running off.

Right as Elizabeth went to get up, she was pushed down by Dr. Wright as he whispered to her.

"Play dead! Feral Ghouls are coming!"

Elizabeth looked over to see creatures resembling Dr. Wright emerge from a dilapidated building. They looked even more twisted and horrifying, screeching noises bellowed from them as they observed their surroundings with an almost animalistic nature, the gunfire must have attracted them.

"Do it!"

Elizabeth laid on the ground and went limp, she remembered Dr. Wright explained that Ferals don't pay attention to his kind, but they could still attack her. Luckily they didn't sense her, so they waited a few minutes until every Feral Ghoul walked past them. When the coast was clear, Elizabeth got off the ground and turned her attention to Dr. Wright. She should have been grateful, but she wasn't, she was angry.

"You! Why are you following me!?"

Dr. Wright looked around idly, before addressing Elizabeth.

"I'm not following you, I went searching for you"

"Why! What do you want!?"

Dr. Wright brought a hand to his temple and sighed, he then looked at Elizabeth in annoyance.

"Take it easy okay, I just saved you"

Elizabeth balled her fists up and attempted to stand her ground.

"Really? You saved me?"

"Yes…what else could this possibly look like? Those guys were gonna kill you"

Elizabeth gritted her teeth, blood dripping down her face as she lashed out.

"You just want to take me back to your home! Keep me locked up!"

Dr. Wright rolled his eyes as he put his gun away.

"Oh my god, your really gonna do this?"

"I'm not coming back with you!"

Dr. Wright looked stern before his expression turned blank. He didn't want to argue with Elizabeth, mainly because it didn't really matter to him what happened to her, so he decided he would bid her farewell and they would go their separate ways.

"Okay, bye"

As Dr. Wright turned around and began walking away, Elizabeth's expression shifted from angry to confused, but her body tensed up more.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going home"

"Your…wait…what are you…your leaving? After all of this?"

"Yes"

Elizabeth's mouth hung open, before clinching her teeth once more as she stamped and growled in frustration.

"No, you, your not fooling me! This is a trick!"

Dr. Wright stopped in his tracks and turned around, looking off into the distance at Elizabeth, he was clearly irritated.

"What? What trick? Please elaborate"

Elizabeth looked down at the fresh corpses on the ground, trying to piece everything together and figure out what Dr. Wright's game was.

"You, you…you are going to…I don't know! But I don't trust you! You can't make me come back!"

Dr. Wright's feet scraped across the ground as he looked on at Elizabeth in frustration.

"Look, I'm not making you do anything! I don't care if you come back with me or not! I'm not gonna chase you around the Capital Wasteland at three o' clock in the god damn morning! You wanna run around out here until you run into something worse? Go ahead! Your mind is made up! You obviously know what your doing! I'm going home to go back to sleep! Good luck out here, goodbye!"

Elizabeth looked around in confusion and started fiddling around with her hands as Dr. Wright started walking away once more. Her paranoia was washed away and replaced with self-preservation and fear. Right now, it was obvious that she would not be able to make it on her own. In a panic, she began running to catch up to Dr. Wright, the whole time screaming to get his attention.

"Wait! Wait for me! Please! Please don't leave me out here!"

Dr. Wright turned around and saw Elizabeth racing towards him when she caught up with him he could see she was terrified and exhausted. Part of him wanted to leave her so he wouldn't have to worry about her, and although he didn't feel empathy, he did feel pity. Here was this girl who went through god knows what, and was now stuck in his world, and the first face she sees upon arrival was his ugly mug; it wasn't exactly fair to blame her for being scared.

"Come on, we'll take it slow"

When Dr. Wright and Elizabeth arrived back at his home, he sat her down and checked on her. Holding a hand to Elizabeth's chest, Dr. Wright felt her heart was still racing, so he checked a nearby drawer. He took out some medication and a bottle of water to give to her.

"Take it, it's concentrated Calmex, it will help calm your nerves"

Elizabeth was hesitant at first until she thought; why not, she took the pill and downed it with some water. When she was done, Dr. Wright took the bottle and poured some water onto a washcloth. Elizabeth flinched and pulled away when Dr. Wright brought it near her face, she wasn't sure if she was beginning to trust him more or if the pills were kicking in, but she allowed him to wash the blood from her face.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm okay. How did you find me?"

Dr. Wright pulled some sort of makeshift tracking device out of his coat pocket.

"DNA tracker, useful for hunting specific kinds of prey. Good thing I still had your DNA samples in my lab, don't know how I would have found you without them"

"Why did you save me?"

Dr. Wright pulled out the note he mentioned the day before "Take good care of Elizabeth. Sincerely, R L"

"Figured I owe them after everything they've given me"

Dr. Wright checked out Elizabeth with a Geiger counter, surprisingly it came up zero.

"Well, at least we know my special brand of Rad-X works, it completely prevents the effects of radiation. Unfortunately; that was my only batch"

"Dr. Wright, I'm sorry. It's just, I…"

Elizabeth couldn't finish her sentence, and even if she could, there was no excuse for stealing from him and running away.

"Look, I'm not exactly happy you took my stuff but, It's fine, I get it; you've been through a lot. You don't know who I am or if I was telling the truth yesterday, I could be anyone who found out about you, somehow. Like I said yesterday, in this world, or any world, a lot is possible. People are capable of anything, especially smart people. And it doesn't help that my appearance can be alarming. So I've been thinking, you might be the key to finding other worlds, and I think I can find a way to open the door, any door. If I could find a way to open a door to other worlds then maybe I could, well…"

Elizabeth could see Dr. Wright was deep in thought as if he was contemplating something. After a minute he snapped out of it and continued talking.

"…Listen, I know this isn't an ideal place, but you can stay here while I work on a way to get you out of this universe"

Elizabeth realized she had screwed up big time, and yet, Dr. Wright was so kind and understanding. She had made a big mistake of judging this particular book by its cover.

"I, I appreciate it"

Dr. Wright held out his hand for Elizabeth, she observed it for a bit before looking back up at him.

"It's called a handshake"

Elizabeth timidly reached out and shook Dr. Wright's hand as he chuckled. It was time to get comfortable; Elizabeth knew she was going to be in this "Capital Wasteland" for a while.


	8. Chapter 8

November 6th, 2289, it had been almost one month since Elizabeth had been restored to life, and Dr. Wright hadn't come anywhere close to finding a way for Elizabeth to leave his world. He continued doing more research into tears, as well as working more with reanimation. Elizabeth wasn't sure what he was specifically doing, but she could always hear him getting frustrated, she felt it was better not to pry. Regardless, Dr. Wright still managed to take care of Elizabeth on top of everything else, such as providing her with plenty of books to read and three meals a day. Dr. Wright also made sure Elizabeth got what she needed, such as clean Pre-War bed linens and clothing. But perhaps the biggest relief was when he finally installed a shower, something Elizabeth had been desperate for.

Despite everything, Elizabeth still wasn't completely content, mainly with the state of the faculty, something she wanted to fix when she came across some old sealed away Christmas decorations that were stored away in a storage closet long before Dr. Wright occupied his lair. He knew how she felt about the place, so he let her put them up, despite Christmas being a month off; and the fact that no one in the Capital Wasteland even celebrated the Pre-War holiday. But Dr. Wright's home was Elizabeth's home, even if it was temporary, and he was willing to do anything to make sure she was as comfortable as possible, and it worked. Elizabeth was beginning to feel at home. A run-down, decaying home, but Dr. Wright made it feel cozy, and that was all that mattered.

For the first time in forever, Elizabeth felt good about herself and less callous and detached from everyone, well, she felt more comfortable with Dr. Wright at least. Over time she was finally able to share the events of her life with Dr. Wright and found him to be very comforting and supportive when revisiting old memories. He knew a lot about independently dealing with trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder, and after years of surviving, he reached a point where it would take a lot to trigger him. Dr. Wright was able to pass on what he knew about keeping his mind and emotions in check, and although Elizabeth still wasn't one hundred percent mentally; she was still grateful for him teaching her what he could and helping her come so far after everything she had been through.

Besides emotional support, Dr. Wright had ways of entertaining Elizabeth when he wasn't busy besides providing reading material. Whether helping her tune into the radio of the Capital Wasteland, allowing her to listen to music from his personal holotape collection, watching old films with her, or telling her stories of his times traveling the world over the past two hundred years; Dr. Wright made sure there was never a dull moment being cooped up in his home.

"So Bill comes running out of the bathroom trying to catch the guy, he makes it out the door yelling " _Help_ _!_ _Help!_ _This Ghoul and its friend have gone crazy! They're gonna kill us all!_ " we burst through the door after him, Bill's holding a bloody machete and I'm holding the severed head of the guy, and I'm yelling " _No it's fine everything's ok_ _ay_ _now!_ " It isn't until we're front of everyone that we realize how we must look to them. Two guys start shooting at us, we're bolting for the door, and one of the guys manages to hit the head I'm still carrying. It explodes! Bloods going everywhere! People screaming! I'm still holding onto what's left of this person's scalp all the way to exit and…"

Dr. Wright shook his head and sighed as he was finishing a morbid but funny story, one of the dozens if not hundreds of experiences he had over two centuries; and Elizabeth was loving every second of it.

"Are you still barred from New Vegas?"

Elizabeth managed to calm down after her laughing fit.

"Um, not sure, probably. It has been several years, a lot of years. People can't tell one Ghoul from another so maybe I'll go back someday"

Billie Holiday's You Go to My Head played over the radio, giving Elizabeth an idea. Elizabeth stood up and offered her hand to Dr. Wright.

"Dance with me"

Elizabeth smiled at Dr. Wright as she made the offer.

Dr. Wright appreciated the offer but wasn't sure how to respond. Elizabeth took him by the hand, pulling him up from his chair. She took one of his hands and placed it on her hip, pulling him close as she took his other hand, holding it as she leads him to the music. It had been a really, really long time since Dr. Wright had danced with anyone, and he was uneasy at first, but eventually he found himself swaying and moving in time with Elizabeth to the rhythm of the song. Elizabeth wrapped her arms around Dr. Wright, pulling him close as she held him, resting her chin on his shoulder as she closed her eyes. At first, she felt sadness, remembering times from the past, losing the only person she cared for. But as she felt Dr. Wright put his arms around her, holding her close, moving in time with her, dancing with her, she started to feel a little less sad.

Dr. Wright checked his watch, it was close to 12:00 PM, and soon he would have to make his weekly business deal.

"I have to step outside"

Dr. Wright released Elizabeth, only for her to take hold of his arm once more.

"Stephen"

"Yes?"

"It's okay, I know what you have to do, I don't judge you. You're a good man, but this is a dreadful and unforgiving world, you have to do what you can to survive. I understand"

Bottle caps were the world's currency, and it was a struggle to earn them with a decent living. Elizabeth had figured out that Dr. Wright sold drugs on the side to earn a living, but she knew he wasn't bad.

"I'm far from good, but thank you"

Dr. Wright knew he wasn't a saint, but he hadn't heard words like that in a long time.

"Thank YOU, Stephen"

Elizabeth leaned in and gave Dr. Wright a quick kiss on the cheek, she wasn't just grateful for everything he had done for her, she had also grown to care about him.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I'd like to take a shower"

"Go on"

Dr. Wright watched Elizabeth make her way into the next room, after a minute he heard her turn on the shower, moaning in satisfaction.

"Is it good?"

"It's perfect"

Elizabeth was in paradise, basking in the clean hot water as it hit her body.

Dr. Wright gathered his merchandise and headed outside. He wasn't proud of what he did on the side to earn caps, but he wasn't one to feel guilty either. To him, it didn't matter what he was doing to earn his income. There were perks to his side job, cooking up his own special brand of chems of Psycho and Jet and selling them off to Raiders earned him enough to stay comfortable, and it kept them off of his back. After all, they could just kill him and take his stash, but they wouldn't be able to find his brand of chems anywhere else in the Capital Wasteland or the world for that matter. Still, in a way, it made him feel good knowing Elizabeth understood; he couldn't remember the last time he felt anything but lethargic when it came to making choices of morality.

A group of Raiders came walking down the rubble of what was once a street, five to six of them yelling and howling as they trudged along. Decked out in armor and padding cobbled together from scrap, and hairstyles cut sloppy and held up with grease. They toted machine guns and shotguns, while their leader, the biggest of them named Death-Sledge, wore massive rusted heavy armor and carried a modified sledgehammer.

"Wright! My favorite Ghoul!"

"Hello Sledge"

Dr. Wright was as unenthusiastic as always to see them.

"Hows that lady friend of yours? The one with the big blue eyes and the ponytail. I've seen her poke her head out time to time; she, is, cute"

"Can we just get on with it?"

Dr. Wright handed over a bag of chemicals, the Raiders clamor around the bag and start emptying its contents into a suitcase. When they're finished, one of the Raiders tosses Dr. Wright a bag of caps. Dr. Wright turns around to head back inside when one of the Raiders stops him.

"Oh, Wright! I almost forgot! We got something for ya! Nails! Nails give him the thing!"

Dr. Wright always thought he had a good thing going with the Raiders, but could this be the night where their insanity got the best of them and they decided to screw everything up. They can't, they couldn't, not now, not with Elizabeth around, not when she still needed him. Dr. Wright readied his Laser Rifle, prepared to make a stand and fight when one of the Raiders pulled out what appeared to be an envelope, scurrying over and handing it to Dr. Wright.

"What is this?"

"No clue, some guy handed it to some guy who handed it to some guy who handed it to us and said they'd pay us good caps to make sure you got it. My friends here were tempted to shoot the guy in the face but then I thought, Nah, Wright's always been good to us, let's do him a favor this one time. See ya next week, Doc"

The Raiders headed off, laughing and screaming into the night as Dr. Wright waited until they were gone to head back inside. Dr. Wright sat back at the table he was at earlier and proceeded to carefully open the letter. Inside appeared to be another note " _Here is the answer to the_ _p_ _roblem_ _you've been trying to solve. Sincerely, R L_ " Folded in the letter was another piece of paper, and he looked over it carefully.

"What is that?"

Elizabeth came out of the shower, wrapped in a towel.

"I think, this is what we've been looking for"

Dr. Wright laid the piece of paper in front of her, it appeared to be a schematic, designs for a machine. But not just any machine, a machine that could potentially manipulate and open tears; they were plans for a Lutece Device.

Late in the night, Dr. Wright awoke to find Elizabeth was gone, again. He trudged the wasteland searching for Elizabeth with his DNA tracker. Any thoughts he had that she ran off again were debunked when he finally reached a location, a standing building in the Bethesda Ruins, he recognized it, it was Death-Sledges place.

"Dammit…"

Dr. Wright's other suspicion was true; Death-Sledge had been dumb enough to take Elizabeth.

Inside of what was once an office building, now decorated with skulls and bones on top of the two hundred years of filth and decay on the walls, Death-Sledge's crew continued to toy with Elizabeth. Luckily she had taken some Rad-X and Rad-Away before she was kidnapped. She continued to try and run, only to be grabbed by another goon and thrown into the arms of another as they took turns exposing her breasts or lifting her dress. Death-Sledge sat on a makeshift throne, The Chords Sh-Boom played on an old holotape player as he continued laughing and clapping along to the abuse of the poor girl until they threw her into the center of the room. Elizabeth could only stand there, nowhere to go, no one to help her; maybe this really was the end.

A grizzly voice boomed over the speakers, Death-Sledge yelled at his men to turn the music down. Sure enough, it was Dr. Wright, come to negotiate with them. Death-Sledge got on the microphone hooked up next to him so they could talk.

"Sledge? Sledge I know you're in there, I know you have the girl. Look, let's just make this easy. I have a suitcase filled with two weeks worth of chems and bottle cap transactions. It's yours. Just give me the girl and we can conclude our business and go on with our lives"

Death-Sledge and his crew laughed over the speakers, causing Dr. Wright to roll his eyes.

"Why would we need to get high off of your shit, when we have this beautiful piece of ass right here that can give us the same high! If you know how to use her that is! Hell, there's even a few ladies here who are eager to see what she can do with that pretty mouth of hers! Right guys!?"

Death-Sledge's crew burst out screaming and laughing.

"Sledge, I would strongly advise you to reconsider my offer"

Two of Death-Sledge's men ran up to the microphone.

"Fuck you Ghoul!"

"Fucking Ghoul! Suck my dick!"

Dr. Wright was really hoping he could deal with the situation easily, so much for wishful thinking. He was going to have to deal with it the way he always has.

"Sledge; you and all of your friends are going to die"

Dr. Wright released his finger from the intercom, cutting off the crews cackling as he set aside the briefcase of drugs and headed inside.

Elizabeth felt a slight glimmer of hope, even though the situation seemed hopeless. Death-Sledge got up and grabbed Elizabeth, dragging her down a corridor into a lone security room. She could see over the monitors, Death-Sledge had ten men in the main room they were in, and at least fifteen more scattered around the complex. Dr. Wright was smart, but he was going to get himself killed, there was no way he could take on all of these men. A single tear fell over the thought of another man sacrificing his life for her, only for her to wind up dead anyway; a sacrifice that was all for nothing.

Dr. Wright was outside the door where Death-Sledge's men stood, guns and weapons ready. He pulled something out of his pocket, some kind of flower bud as he stepped through the door. Before any of the Raiders had a chance to get a shot off or charge at him, Dr. Wright gave the bud a squeeze, crushing it in his hand. Their faces took on grimaces of pain as they all clutched their chests, some dropping to their knees, others falling on the ground in pain. Death-Sledge bellowed over the speakers as he barked orders at his men.

"What are you doing!? Get up! What the hell is wrong with all of you!?"

It wasn't long until the Raiders stopped moving entirely, as they died one by one. Death-Sledge watched over the monitors in horror. What the hell did Dr. Wright just do, what kind of voodoo or magic did he concoct.

Dr. Wright walked through the corridors, another bud in hand as he gave it a squeeze. Raiders burst out of hidden crawl spaces and doors, clutching their chest, going through the same motions until they dropped dead. As Dr. Wright made his way closer to Death-Sledge, Raiders with any sense began dropping their weapons and running, but none could escape. Another bud crushed and they fell like domino's, some down some stairs, a few fell over some balcony's as they dropped like flies. It wasn't long until it was only Dr. Wright, Elizabeth, and Death-Sledge left in the building.

"What the hell have you done!? What is this!?"

Death-Sledge screamed over the security room intercom in rage and confusion.

"So I take it our business has concluded?"

Dr. Wright taunted Death-Sledge as he looked up into one of the security cameras mounted in the corner.

"You killed my men!"

"I warned you"

"What did you do!?"

Dr. Wright pulled another bud out of his pocket and continued to taunt Death-Sledge.

"This is what I like to call a Carol Taylor Bud. I've spent almost three decades perfecting botany to grow these. It's what gives my chems that extra kick you won't find in an ordinary batch. But there's a catch. If you ingest enough of this for a period of time on a frequent basis, traces of the compound will sit in your blood stream. Normally it's harmless. But if I destroy one of these buds in my hand it will send off pheromones. If you're in close enough proximity, it will direct all traces of the compound through your blood stream, straight to your heart, causing heart palpitations so sudden and so massive that your heart literally explodes inside your chest. Call my secret recipe a contingency plan for if things go south; unfortunately, you won't live to warn the Capital Wasteland about it"

"You think you can just poison my men and then kill them!?"

Death-Sledge was enraged, he had been duped since the very beginning. He always assumed from the stories he heard that his previous clients died out from either killing each other or overdosing, but that's probably what they thought too before crossing Dr. Wright.

"Hey, you brought this on yourself! Why do you Raiders feel the need to mess things up with these relapses in judgment? What was the one rule I gave you when we started to conduct business? Don't fuck with me! Short and simple! Easy to follow! You broke that rule! So now, I have to kill you!"

Death-Sledge burst out laughing.

"Guess what, I've never taken any of your chems! I only purchased them for my men! Your stupid bud won't have any effect on me!"

Another Raider bursts in from out of nowhere and taunts Dr. Wright.

"Ah ha ha ha! I didn't take your chems either! Fucking dumb ass!"

Dr. Wright nonchalantly pulled out his pistol and shoots the Raider in the head, before turning his attention back to Death-Sledge.

"Don't feel too left out Sledge, I'm gonna take care of you right now"

"Stop! Stop moving! Right now! I'll kill this bitch! I'll bash her brains in! You! Get on your knees! Do it!"

Elizabeth was hesitant until she heard Dr. Wright's reassuring voice over the intercom once more.

"Elizabeth, just humor him, this will be over in a minute"

Death-Sledge let out an endless string of threats and curses as Elizabeth dropped to her knees, she watched over the monitors as Dr. Wright began looking around while standing in place with his DNA scanner. He fiddled with it until it directed him at a wall, he calmly put it away before taking out his laser rifle. He stuck his thumb out and appeared to be measuring something in the air, before charging up the gun. Death-Sledge held up his hammer over his head, ready to cave Elizabeth's skull in.

"I'll do it! I swear! You better back off! You son of a bi…"

ZAP! A beam of light shot through the wall and hit Death-Sledge in the chest, immediately incinerating him as his hammer and equipment dropped to the floor with a loud thud, frightening Elizabeth as they landed behind her where Death-Sledge once stood, now a pile of ashes. Elizabeth got up and cautiously looked through the holes that had penetrated several walls of steel and concrete where the laser had come through. She saw Dr. Wright peering through them as he commented to himself.

"Eh, a little off center but just as effective, I don't think he's complaining"

Dr. Wright found the room Elizabeth was held in, it was locked but she was able to let him in from her side. Dr. Wright checked on Elizabeth, she was shaking but otherwise appeared to be unharmed.

"Elizabeth look at me, breathe, come on. In, and out, in, and out, in, and out"

Elizabeth managed to match Dr. Wright's breathing until she was no long filled with nerves and stopped shaking. When she was finally calm, she began to process everything that had happened and started crying in front of Dr. Wright.

"I was sitting outside, I was tired of being cooped up so I thought I'd sit outside. I didn't see them coming, they snuck up on me and grabbed me and before I could do anything they had overpowered me…I'm sorry…"

Dr. Wright wiped away Elizabeth's tears, it was hard to stay mad at her for being foolish.

"Elizabeth, it's fine…"

Dr. Wright was cut off by Elizabeth.

"No, it isn't! All I've done since I've arrived is cause you trouble and grief! That's all I've ever done! I ruin people's lives!…you should have left me dead…"

Elizabeth wanted to continue on, but Dr. Wright wouldn't allow it.

"Stop it! Stop! I don't ever wanna hear that again!"

Elizabeth winced as Dr. Wright raised his voice. He may not have been able to stay mad at her for being so ill-advised, but hearing her lack of appreciation for her own life set him off. Dr. Wright brought a hand to Elizabeth's chin and helped raise her up to look at him as he pulled out another bud.

"This, right here, this is recycled, all of my buds are recycled. Whether I use them on chems or crush them or they die on their own. Every single one of these I bring back from death using a series of catalyst's containing minerals, chemicals and tweaked radiation, so they can blossom and live again. But this, this is nothing. You, you are the biggest, brightest, most beautiful flower to ever blossom and live again in this world of horror, blood, and shit"

Dr. Wright's words touched Elizabeth, but it wasn't enough. It still didn't excuse the things she had done, both currently and in the past.

"What have I done for you besides ruin everything in your life?"

"What have you done for me? Elizabeth, you have done so much for me. You're not only my greatest achievement but you're also the greatest thing to happen to me in a very, long, time. You're more than just some experiment; you're my friend…okay?"

It was hard, but Elizabeth nodded in agreement. All along she thought Dr. Wright was the one taking care of her; now she understood she was taking care of him as well, even if she hadn't seen it that way at first. Dr. Wright pulled Elizabeth in and gave her a big hug, feeling her hold him tightly in appreciation for what he had done for her, and for expressing his gratitude.

"I'm gonna build the tear machine, I'm gonna find the perfect world for you, and I'm gonna get you as far away from all of this as possible. For now, let's go home. It's your home as well, and will be as long as you're here"

"Thank you…I could use another shower after all of this…"

"You can take as many showers as you want when we get home"

"No I, I mean, I really do need to clean myself up. They, they wouldn't let me use the bathroom so I…I peed on myself…about three minutes ago…"

Dr. Wright took on an expression of disbelief. He released Elizabeth and looked down to see urine had gone through her dress and left a wet stain on his lab coat, causing him to look up and express his aggravation. Despite everything, Elizabeth couldn't help but snicker. Dr. Wright's look of annoyance turned into a big smile as he burst out laughing, forcing Elizabeth to break down and laugh along with him. Dr. Wright may have meant every word he said about how much Elizabeth meant to him, but he couldn't deny one thing she said was true; at times she could be a giant pain in the ass.


	9. Chapter 9

November 27th, 2289, Dr. Wright was on his way to Rivet City for supplies, although he found it hard to focus on his trip due to lack of sleep and so much on his mind. He had finally finished the Lutece Device but was struggling to get it to work. Even though he constructed it from scrap and Pre-War Technology, he was still intelligent enough to make anything work. But this, trying to bend space and time and open up a specific hole, even this alluded him. But he was getting close, very close, he could feel it. For now, he was going to put it on the back burner.

Dr. Wright arrived at Rivet City, where he coerced deals with his favorite vendor Bobby Newman. Dr. Wright had known Bobby for a long time, from when he was a teenager to when he inherited his father's business. Dr. Wright made his usual purchases of food and supplies while discussing his work when Bobby asked where his lady friend was; he was, of course, referring to Elizabeth, who last week had finally visited Rivet City, along with other hospitable areas of the Capital Wasteland.

November 19th, 2289, Dr. Wright had figured out a way to recreate his Rad-X formula to keep Elizabeth immune from radiation, and by taking specific routes he knew were safe, he was able to take her along with him during one of his supply runs while avoiding the dangers that plagued the world she was occupying. For the first time since arriving, Elizabeth was able to see the more sociable, less hostile places of the Capital Wasteland that only Dr. Wright knew how to safely get to. As they traversed through an underground tunnel, they came across some friendly traveling Vault Dwellers who set up camp, two males, and two females. Vaults were massive fallout shelters designed to hold over one thousand people per Vault in the event of nuclear war and were completely self-sufficient. Vault Dwellers were identified by their regulated matching blue jumpsuits; Elizabeth couldn't help but think they were adorable. After they spent some time resting and conversing, they pressed on. One of the main stops was a former Museum of History, a place called Underworld, that housed non-feral Ghouls. Even though Ghouls appearances were shocking to most, Elizabeth wasn't one to have an ego as she found herself feeling bashful from all the compliments she was getting, almost every Ghoul pointed out how pretty and beautiful she was. Then there was Rivet City, an entire city located inside a decaying, beached aircraft carrier. There weren't any Ghouls, but Dr. Wright had become well known around Rivet City, even if there were a few bigots here and there.

As Elizabeth and Dr. Wright made their way down some stairs to get to the marketplace, a couple of members of the Brotherhood of Steel were walking past them.

The Brotherhood of Steel are a quasi-religious organization that had been around since the beginning of the end. A group so massive, so powerful, that it was spread throughout all of what was left of North America, their sole purpose to acquire technology, both pre and post-war. While common people never bothered them; they hated and despised Ghouls.

Elizabeth and Dr. Wright attempted to step aside, only for one of the soldiers to seemingly bump into Dr. Wright on purpose. He was wearing armored infantry technology known as Power Armor. Despite nudging Dr. Wright on purpose, the soldier turned his attention to him and began to pick a fight.

"Hey watch it Ghoul, that crap you call skin is gonna leave a smear on my suit!"

The other two soldiers, male and female and wearing dark orange and gray body suits, looked on and cackled as the three of them took turns taking jabs at Dr. Wright.

"Look at this ugly fuck!"

"I know right, who the hell let this thing into Rivet City, dirtying up the place and everyone in it wherever he steps!"

"I bet he's not even a scientist, Ghouls brains are too rotten to learn anything"

"He probably took that get up from a corpse"

"He is a corpse!"

Dr. Wright was unfazed as the Brotherhood taunted him, firing back with his own quip.

"Since you're all so worried about me smearing your suits, how about I turn you all into a smear on the floor, then you won't have to worry about anything"

"Hey! Who do you think you're talking to!?"

As the Brotherhood readied their guns, Dr. Wright continued to stand his ground. Elizabeth stepped forward and lashed out at the Brotherhood as she stood by Dr. Wright's side.

"How dare you! You have no right to judge someone based on their appearance! He is still a person and a good man!"

Dr. Wright felt Elizabeth take him by the arm, caressing it with her free hand as she looked on lovingly at him. It was a little odd, but it was probably just for show. One of the soldiers addressed Elizabeth with ignorant statements.

"Good, doubt it. Man, doesn't look like one to me. If it were up to us, we'd storm that shit hole Underworld and purge all of his kind; but that would just be a waste of ammo.

One of the Brotherhood soldiers, a butch female, addressed Elizabeth in a crude manner.

"Hey, lady, how bout you come over here and take my arm? I'll let you hold the rest of me while your at it"

The soldier winked as she tried to flirt with Elizabeth while the other two soldiers laughed on.

"Elizabeth just drop it, these are the Brotherhood of Steel, they're soldiers, even I'm smart enough to know who has the biggest guns in the Capital Wasteland"

Dr. Wright wanted to walk away, it was a mistake to engage the Brotherhood in the first place.

"Yeah listen to the Ghoul lady, we're soldiers; we're the ones who make a difference around here"

The soldiers permeated with confidence, although it was more like their ego was talking.

"Soldiers? Funny, you seem no different from the Raiders except for your fancy garb"

Elizabeth took a shot at the Brotherhood, they weren't too happy about that.

"What did you say!?"

One of the Rivet City Guards cut in.

"Hey if you're gonna shoot each other can you take it outside? Nobodies killing anybody in Rivet City"

The soldiers did double takes of each other, before deciding to move on.

"Come on, this Ghouls starting to make me sick"

As the Brotherhood soldiers exited Rivet City, Dr. Wright turned his attention back to Elizabeth.

"I appreciate you standing up for me; but that was reckless, I had it under control. Those were the Brotherhood of Steel, all they want is technology. They may be assholes, but as long nothing interferes with their personal agenda, they'll leave me and everyone else alone"

Elizabeth understood, but she still didn't like seeing Dr. Wright get pushed around.

"I don't care who they were, you shouldn't have to put up with intolerance from people like that. It doesn't matter how you look, you are a kind, sweet, and wonderful man. Anybody would be lucky to have you by their side; I know I am"

Elizabeth took hold of Dr. Wright's hand, lovingly caressing the top of it, almost affectionately. He wasn't sure what this was about, she didn't need to pretend that she was physically comfortable with him anymore. Dr. Wright pulled his hand free and started walking towards the shop stands.

"I have some things I need to get, you can look around but don't go far, and don't touch anything"

Elizabeth wasn't sure why Dr. Wright was acting so distant, she just wanted to show how she felt about him. But the more she analyzed her feelings, the more Elizabeth realized she wasn't sure what it was she was feeling. She did know one thing; she wanted to continue exploring these new feelings she was developing. Fortunately for her, she would stumble across what she was looking for. While reading a relationship magazine called Live & Love, Elizabeth spotted something out of the corner of her eye that directly correlated with everything she was learning about and feeling. But she didn't want Dr. Wright to know about it, she wanted it to be a surprise. Although he was reluctant, Elizabeth managed to push Dr. Wright into giving her the caps. After her purchase, she hid the item away in a box to take home. Dr. Wright didn't know what Elizabeth could have purchased, but it was probably something personal she wished for and nothing more, and even though it cost him a good amount, he was glad she appreciated it.

November 27th, 2289, Dr. Wright arrived home and noticed it was too quiet. He called out for Elizabeth, no answer, so he put everything aside and raced to her bedroom, where he found her in bed. She was sprawled out and looking seductive, wearing a clean pair of sexy sleepwear as her pinkie-less hand traced her body and curves as she addressed him.

"Hello Stephen"

During her time in Rivet City, Elizabeth realized what she was feeling; it was love, she had grown to love Dr. Wright. Her days of being innocent were long gone, and she wanted to explore her affection not just emotionally, but physically. So when she spotted what was called, sexy sleepwear, in almost perfect condition during their time in Rivet City, she knew she needed to have it. Elizabeth had adopted a sensual femme fatale look during her time in Rapture when she was trying to blend in, and although it wasn't intentional, a lot of the men thought she was really sexy. She wanted to capture that unintentional essence once more and intentionally look and act sultry for Dr. Wright when the moment was right, she trusted her instincts that this was the moment. She had the look, and she had the perfect song to set the mood after digging through Dr. Wright's collection of holotapes; it was time for Elizabeth to make her move.

Elizabeth smiled and batted her eyes, trying to look alluring as she got out of bed. She turned around, bending over in front of Dr. Wright as she turned on the radio in her bedroom and put on a tape. The Flamingos I Only Have Eyes for You played as she walked over to him, exaggerating her hips with each step as her hands continued to feel and trace her body, the small pitter patter of her bare feet made slight echoes throughout the room. Elizabeth stopped in front of Dr. Wright as she slowly turned around, showing off her body as she moved in tune to the music.

"So, what do you think?"

Dr. Wright didn't answer Elizabeth, he didn't know how to. Elizabeth realized Dr. Wright might be nervous, so she tried to ease him into it.

"It's okay Stephen, you don't need to be shy. You've done so much for me, I wanted to give you something in return"

Elizabeth took Dr. Wright's hands and placed them on her hips, putting her arms around the back of his neck as she continued swaying to the music. She moved in close and whispered in Dr. Wright's ear.

"You know, I don't care what everyone else thinks, I think you're pretty cute. I've asked you for so much Stephen, tonight you can have me for whatever you want"

After much careful planning, tonight would be the night they made love; or so she presumed.

Dr. Wright's eyes went teary as he stared off into the abyss, losing himself in his mind as he began to recall times he was exploited, voices playing in his head, Elizabeth unknowingly brought them on with her advancements.

" _Do you know how lucky you are to have me!? Do you know how many of these psychopaths would just shoot you on sight without me!? You rotting sack of shit!_ "

" _Come on Stephen, do this for me. How many other girls as pretty as me would even give you the time of day?_ "

" _Okay okay,_ _I'll give you_ _a full pack of Mentats_ _if you_ _fuck_ _this Ghoul. Alright fine, you can take_ _one pill_ _first, don't blame you;_ _who_ _wouldn't wan_ _na_ _be high if they had to_ _fuck_ _some_ _one as hideous as_ _him!_ _Ha ha ha ha ha! Ha ha ha ha ha!_ "

When Dr. Wright came back to reality, he removed his hands from Elizabeth and pulled himself free from her grasp as he questioned her advancements.

"What are you doing?"

"What?"

"What, are, you, doing?"

Dr. Wright repeated himself.

"Well I, I thought that, I…"

Elizabeth stammered as she tried to explain herself.

"You thought what?"

"I, I, I thought that…"

Elizabeth couldn't finish her sentence.

"You thought that everyone thinks I'm ugly, that no one wants to be around me, that I can't have anyone, so maybe I'd feel better if I got pity sex from a beautiful girl. That's what you thought right?"

"No, that's not it Stephen I, please just, I'm sorry I, I didn't mean to offend you"

Elizabeth tried to apologize to Dr. Wright, the last thing she wanted to do was hurt him.

Dr. Wright left Elizabeth, closing the door to her room as he walked out. Elizabeth had screwed up big time, all she wanted was to show Dr. Wright how much she cared for him. Elizabeth didn't care about his appearance, underneath she found an intelligent and kind person. But she also found that he truly was the same as her. Like her, he was in a lot of pain; and never had a real way of moving on.

Later on, Elizabeth had changed out of the gown she attempted to woo Dr. Wright with, and was now dressed casually. She approached Dr. Wright's bedroom door and knocked before letting herself in. She saw him sitting on the edge of his bed, staring off into the distance. Elizabeth wasn't sure if he was deep in thought or trying to ignore her, she decided to speak up.

"Stephen I, listen I'm…"

Elizabeth was interrupted by Dr. Wright.

"I'm sorry"

"What?"

Elizabeth was confused.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said those things to you. I've been around for a long time, and when you look the way I do it tends to drive people away unless they want something from you. That's when they take advantage of you, use you. They don't just remind you of who you were, but what you had, what you lost; and I've lost more than most people could bare for two lifetimes"

Dr. Wright opened up his drawer and took out what appeared to be a wilted run down photograph and held it out to Elizabeth as she sat next to him and took the photo, it was a strapping, brown haired, blue eyed man and a beautiful green eyed blonde woman, together.

"This is you isn't it?"

"Yeah"

"You were handsome. I mean, you…"

Elizabeth stumbled over her words once again.

"It's fine"

Dr. Wright chuckled at Elizabeth, who took notice of the woman next to him in the picture.

"Was this someone special to you?"

"Yeah, Carol, Carol Taylor Wright. My wife. I never told you about her. We were together before the war. After the bombs fell, we struggled for years, but we stuck together, even when I looked the way I do now. I remember when she hit fifty, the big five-o, she still looked just as beautiful as the day I met her. As time slowed for me it continued for her, and eventually the day came where she wasn't as fast as she used to be. A group of cannibals caught us, they had no use for me, no use for rotten meat. So they made me watch as they ate her; while she was still alive to feel it. That night I managed to escape and sharpen a makeshift knife. I gutted, slashed, and killed each of them, slowly. Even as the last one, some kid, must have been twelve or thirteen. He begged for his life, said he was desperate for food, said it was never personal. I stuck him; and watched the life drain from his eyes. The thing about that kid, I could tell he was sincere, I just didn't care. I remember cradling what was left of Carol's head, I must have sat there for hours in a pool of blood, couldn't tell if it was hers or theirs. But I sat there, promising her I would find a way to make things right. Those times you heard me in the lab, I still have her remains. But, there isn't enough DNA to work with; too much time has gone by"

Elizabeth was both horrified and saddened by Dr. Wright's story. In a way, it reminded her of Booker, how he had come to save her from torture after being held in Comstock House for almost six months. He still didn't remember why he went to Columbia to get her. In his mind, she was just a girl some people in New York wanted in exchange for paying his debts. Yet despite his misleading memories, he still wanted to do right by her, all he wanted to do was leave and take her to Paris. When he objected continuing further to kill Comstock, she berated him, felt he had no right to moralize after what he had done, both in Columbia and during Wounded Knee; it was perhaps her second biggest regret of what she had done to Booker, next to drowning him.

When Elizabeth had first met Dr. Wright, she saw him as a creature, some kind of monster. In a sense he was, at least in the past. To mindlessly murder a child who begged for his life, and that was only scratching the surface, there was no saying how many other countless atrocities he had done over the last 200 years. Dr. Wright was like Booker, he had done horrible things, but he still a good person; and she could never tear him down for the evil he regretted committing.

Elizabeth handed Dr. Wright back the photograph. He stared at it for a bit, before getting up and putting it back in his drawer.

"I told you when we first met that I didn't start off as a scientist. I was a carpenter, I started as a carpenter. After the bombs fell, me and Carol found out her dad couldn't stand the fact that her daughter was married to a woodworker, but she didn't care, she still loved me. We always talked about building a house by a lake, just the two of us; never got around to it. After Carol died, I traveled all over and it turns out I had a knack for learning science. So I studied what I could and believe me, I had plenty of time to learn more than what the average person knew, but you know all about having spare time to learn new things"

Elizabeth nodded in agreement. She stood up, face to face with Dr. Wright, she needed to come clean about how she felt.

"Stephen I, what I did earlier, I did it because I feel…Stephen, I love you…"

Elizabeth's eyes began to water as she felt her stomach turn into knots and her chest ache over the pain of heartbreak, she truly loved Dr. Wright.

"…But I understand that you still love your wife and that you made a promise"

"Elizabeth…"

"I, I think I'd like to be alone"

Elizabeth walked out, she wasn't even halfway to her room before she broke down crying.

Dr. Wright could fix almost anything, but he couldn't mend a broken heart. He felt bad for Elizabeth, all he wanted to do was show that he cared for her, even though he didn't love her the same way she loved him. Deep down; he still loved Carol.

December 6th, 2289, Elizabeth had gone into isolation in her living quarters for over a week. When she wasn't eating her meals inside her room alone, she wallowed from the agony of being heartbroken. Dr. Wright couldn't comfort her, he was the reason her heart ached. All he could do was continue giving her space, along with as much time as she needed to go through the motions. Hopefully, she would pull herself together.

One day, Dr. Wright had become extremely frustrated, screaming his head off as he tried to get the Lutece Device to work.

"Dammit! Why can't I get this thing to work!?"

Dr, Wright stormed out of his lab, he was angry, mostly at himself, along with the ongoing situation he inadvertently caused. He went into the rec room to calm down and collect himself when Elizabeth came in. He was about to get up and leave, only for Elizabeth to stop him.

"Stephen, wait…"

"I didn't mean to bother you"

Dr. Wright thought Elizabeth had heard him carrying on from her room.

"No it's fine, you weren't"

Dr. Wright sat quietly, he found it difficult to keep eye contact with Elizabeth, but he needed to speak up and address the elephant in the room.

"Listen, Elizabeth, I'm…I'm sorry"

"You don't need to apologize, I told you I understand. It's been hard but, I understand"

Dr. Wright went quiet once more, rubbing his hands together before continuing to speak.

"It's not like I haven't tried moving on. There were others. But this world. One woman betrayed me and another…let's just say this world made sure I couldn't be with that woman. It's been so hard, so damn hard. This isn't just because I still love Carol. Elizabeth, I care about you so much. I care about you so much that I can't stand it sometimes. I can't stand to see you as anything else but happy. But this is not a world for you, this nearly dead decrepit world that's been on life support for almost two centuries. The biggest crime I could commit, out of all the horrible things I've done, is making you stay here. If anything happened to you and was unable to save you I…I think I'd finally go insane; maybe even turn Feral. I…"

Dr. Wright began to choke on his words, unable to finish his sentence, he pushed through and continued.

"…You keep saying it's okay but, it isn't; I just hope you can forgive me…"

Dr. Wright finally forced his guilt out, allowing Elizabeth to chime in.

"Stephen, please don't carry anymore regret; I forgave you the moment you told me the truth about Carol. Do you know what I saw when I looked at that picture? I saw that you and your wife were in love. I want you to have that again. That's what love is, isn't it? When you're willing to do anything to make sure that the one you love is happy no matter what, that's love…"

Tears rolled down Dr. Wright's withered cheeks as he nodded in agreement while Elizabeth continued.

"I know I can't give you my heart, but I can still give you part of it because I care about you, you're my friend. We should do something together, right now. Maybe we could watch a movie, or listen to music, or we could just talk; what do you think?"

"You know what; I'd really like that"

Dr. Wright wiped his eyes and got up, it brightened his mood to see Elizabeth happy with her beautiful smile.

"It still stings a little, but I'm glad I got to fall in love with you. With everything I've experienced and endured, I never thought I could feel this way about someone. It felt nice; even if it was for a brief amount of time"

"You'll feel it again, you will"

Elizabeth timidly nodded in agreement, she had something else on her mind.

"Stephen, can I ask you something?"

"Of course"

"When I was in Rapture and trying to blend in, men would whistle at me and flirt with me. It meant nothing to me at the time. But since I met you, something changed. It's silly but, what I'm trying to ask is…before when I tried to, well, woo you…how did I do? Wherever you send me do you think that someone will find me…enticing?"

Dr. Wright laughed as he put his hand on Elizabeth's shoulder.

"When you find yourself a man; you are gonna drive him wild"

Elizabeth stifled a laugh and smiled as she looked down and fiddled with her ponytail in a bashful manner. Dr. Wright smiled as well, as he ran his hand through her hair.

"Elizabeth, whether you're in this world, or some other world, I will always be your friend. And thank you, for helping me feel less lonely"

Elizabeth and Dr. Wright hugged, all was forgiven and made right.


	10. Chapter 10

December 19th, 2289, after one month of hard work, and hours of toiling away, Dr. Wright finally got the Lutece Device up and running. He had some very special plans involving the machine, but first, he would spend the next week observing everything outside of his universe. With so much to explore, Dr. Wright was both perplexed and astonished by the worlds he stumbled across.

One world, out of what must have been an infinite amount of worlds, was an alternate timeline of 2029. People were augmented, which from what Dr. Wright gathered where enhancements such as artificial prosthetic limbs and other body parts to either replace missing limbs or improve basic human functions. Another world appeared to be a technologically growing city in 1837 called Dunwall that shared similarities to the Industrial Revolution, only their main source of energy centered around Whale Oil. Then there was the dark, cursed, and death filled lands of Lordran, which seemed to not exist on any earthly timeline, and appeared to have timelines overlapping each other with different variations centered around a man, or woman, named the Chosen Undead. The overlapping timelines caused such problems for the Lutece Device that it had to be turned off for a couple of hours to cool down.

Dr. Wright remembered Elizabeth discussing the concept of constants and variables, and he seemed to find one world that appeared to be extremely different, but he could sense it shared parallels of his world. It was a mythical and magically version of Earth consisting of lands bearing names like Cyrodill, Morrowind, and Skyrim, all of them inhabited by creatures, such as elves, ogres, vampires, undead creatures, wizards, anthropomorphic cats and lizards, and ancient dragons. And similar to Lordran, there were different variations of a single person who was half dragon; known only as the Dragonborn.

Out of curiosity, Dr. Wright explored the worlds of Rapture and Columbia and the different variations of them. Rapture, an art deco city resembling New York all the way at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, and Columbia, a city in the sky with neoclassical buildings held up by giant balloons. Both different, but with similar horrors present throughout both utopias. Dr. Wright immediately understood what Elizabeth had gone through with her experiences, having finally witnessed them through the Lutece Device. What he wouldn't give for five minutes alone with Comstock and Fontaine. But he knew all about the power of revenge, as did Elizabeth, and although part of him felt like Comstock and Fontaine had almost gotten off easy with their fates and deserved worse; Elizabeth would never want Dr. Wright to go back down that road, even after everything they had done to her.

Elizabeth had already known about Booker's fate following the death of her Booker. In some timelines, Anna was sold and everything played out the same. It hurt to look past the doors and see the same event occur over and over and over again, a loop leading Booker to Columbia that could never be broken, but it needed to play out that way. Columbia had to exist at some point in the past in order for timelines to exist where Booker refused to sell Anna, where he refused to sell her. She would spend hours at the doors, watching them, wishing she could step through, longing for a life she could never have. A normal life with her friend, her father, but none of those Booker's were hers, her Booker was gone. Sometimes she would spend too much time observing them, and Booker could sense her presence outside of time and space, forcing her to close the doors, out of fear that she might disturb their peace. She wanted Booker and Anna to be free of anything her world had wrought, even being somewhat aware of its existence. The many possibilities of their lives weren't always perfect. Some were bad, some were good; but in the end, it was worth it so Booker and Anna could properly live out their lives, in one way or another. It wasn't until one day when Elizabeth decided to step through one of those doors and try to stop Comstock from even bringing Anna into his universe, that was how her trip to Rapture was set in motion, one she would not come back from. But there was a positive conclusion, not just for her sacrifice, but what came after it; so it was up to Dr. Wright to grant Elizabeth's wish of seeing the aftermath of everything.

December 25th, 2289, it was Christmas, and even though Dr. Wright hadn't celebrated it in almost two centuries, he wanted to do something special for Elizabeth. After almost an entire day of toying with the machine and searching, Dr. Wright had come across something important, someone to be exact. Sally, the little girl Elizabeth rescued. The Lutece Device wasn't just being used to find her a new home, it was also to help give her something just as important; closure.

Elizabeth watched Sally through the tear, she had grown to almost resemble her, albeit with blonde hair. Dr. Wright commented on how Sally was as beautiful as Elizabeth. Sally appeared to be living in upstate New York in the 1980's and had adapted well to the surface world. They continued to observe Sally as she was brushing her hair in her bedroom mirror, when she became startled and turned around, facing the direction of the tear, like she could feel them watching her.

"Whoa, this is new. I was able to view other worlds without anyone picking up on my presence, but this is different. It's like she knows we're watching her. But, I don't think she can see us"

"She can't"

"Care to elaborate?"

Dr. Wright was curious about this new phenomenon.

"It's happened to me before, it's like an observer effect"

"So she can sense us based on our observation of her, why didn't the people in those other worlds react to me watching them?"

"Because you never existed around those people or in those worlds, but for me…"

Elizabeth found it hard to continue, even if she was only explaining things scientifically and not emotionally.

"You're connected with her. Have you experienced this with anyone else?"

"Booker, back when I was…I've experienced it with many versions of him, and with someone else"

"Someone else? Who?"

Elizabeth recalled watching someone else through one of the doors, someone she had never met before.

"…I'm not sure who the other person was"

Elizabeth's train of thought was interrupted unexpectedly by Sally as she surprisingly spoke up.

"It's you, isn't it? The one who saved me. You're alive, I always knew you where"

Sally paused for a second, she found it hard to revisit what had happened to Elizabeth.

"Your name is Elizabeth, right? I saw your name on a poster once. I don't know where you are, but I know you're here. Maybe there is something up there after all. Or maybe some otherworldly thing that can't be explained. I guess it doesn't matter in the end…"

Sally began to cry, even though she couldn't see Elizabeth, it was emotional to know the woman who saved her when she was a child was alive in some shape or form.

"…I hope you have found peace; Thank you, for everything…"

Elizabeth and Sally smiled, tears rolling down their cheeks over their somewhat spiritually reunion. It wasn't just Elizabeth who needed closure; Sally had needed it as well for the years of Elizabeth's death weighing heavily on her.

"Goodbye Sally"

"Goodbye Elizabeth"

Sally could sense Elizabeth's farewell. Both women waved goodbye to each other as Dr. Wright closed the tear. Elizabeth turned her attention to him, he could see she was overwhelmed with what had just happened.

"Stephen…I…"

Elizabeth's bottom lip quivered, Dr. Wright took a hand on her shoulder as he tried to comfort her.

"It's okay"

Elizabeth could no longer control herself as she buried her face in her hands, sobbing uncontrollably. Dr. Wright got up and held Elizabeth close while she let everything out. He gently stroked her hair as she rested her head on his shoulder, her tears staining his lab coat as he tried to comfort her.

"Listen to me, listen; she's okay. You can go on and live your life knowing that because you've seen where she is now. You don't need to carry the burden of any mistakes you made in the past anymore; you did good"

Elizabeth held Dr. Wright tightly, expressing how grateful she was for what he had given her.

"Thank you, Stephen…Thank you…Thank you so much…"

"Your welcome; Merry Christmas"

"Merry Christmas"

Elizabeth had found peace from seeing Sally grown up and living her life; soon it would be time for Elizabeth to finally start her own life.

Dr. Wright was careful in finding the perfect world for Elizabeth, and while he stumbled across one that was questionable, he felt the one he found offered enough for Elizabeth to have a fresh start. Dr. Wright had also been working on other things for Elizabeth to start her new life with.

The first thing Dr. Wright did was look into a way to forge credentials for Elizabeth, things like a social security card and birth certificate, and it all had to be based on the world he chose for her. It took a while, but Dr. Wright had gotten the tools he needed. Then there was money, luckily for Dr. Wright, he had plenty of that as well. When Dr. Wright first moved into his facility, he had stumbled across a stockpile of fifty million dollars from the 1940's. It was deep underground in the facility, hidden away or perhaps forgotten about for two centuries. Unfortunately, that kind of currency was called Pre-War Money for that exact reason, it was worthless in the Capital Wasteland. Plus, there was no way to physically move it from its location. Luckily for Dr. Wright, he had also stumbled across a portable teleportation device decades ago. All you had to do was point and click at an object for it to dematerialize, and then point and click again for it to rematerialize. It was perfect for moving stuff from one location to another, and it only had enough specialized ammo to be used a handful of times. So, he thought what better than to bestow the device and money onto Elizabeth.

Dr. Wright added one last thing as a personal touch. Elizabeth didn't know what actual month or day she was born, so Dr. Wright set up the date himself with all of the personal information she would need. October 8th, 1991. He chose October 8th because it was the day she arrived in Columbia, Rapture, and The Capital Wasteland, and it would be the day Elizabeth traversed to the new world Dr. Wright had found for her so she could start her new life; in the year 2012.

 **Authors Note: None of the references I made to other video games are expanded upon in the story. I just thought it would be fun to use the concept of alternate universes to reference some of my favorite things.**


	11. Chapter 11

December 31st, 2289, Elizabeth was ready to leave Dr. Wright's universe as he walked her through what she would need to do for the tenth time. Elizabeth thought it was adorable how after all this time, and even towards the end that he was still looking out for her. Elizabeth jested with Dr. Wright and told him she understood.

"You're good to go then"

"Yeah, I guess I am. Thank you, Stephen, for everything"

Elizabeth reached over and hugged Dr. Wright. Even though they were only friends, and although she could be a pain in the ass sometimes, Dr. Wright truly cared about Elizabeth. He was going to miss her, the time they spent together and the talks they had. Dr. Wright wouldn't be exaggerating if he said that he would never find someone like Elizabeth in this world, but that's what made her special.

"Elizabeth, before you go there's something I need to tell you, I…"

Dr. Wright was interrupted by the radio, it sounded like someone was trying to get through to them. Dr. Wright went over to the radio and fiddled around with it until it was finally clear, a familiar voice came through; it was Bobby Newman.

"Steve! Steve listen to me! They got me! The Brotherhood of Steel got me! Someone tipped them off about what you had! They, they broke me! I told them where you were! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I managed to break free, found their radio coms! It's too late for me! You and your lady friend need to get out now! They're coming! They're…"

Bobby was cut off by the sound of gunfire and clamor before the radio cut off completely.

Dr. Wright could hear vertibirds outside, it was too late to get out in time. He needed to stall them long enough to get Elizabeth out of there. Dr. Wright told Elizabeth not to move as he raced to the entrance, carefully he stepped outside. Standing in front of Dr. Wright was over ten of their best men, all armed with the most powerful laser weapon technology, with some of them boasting Power Armor. The leader of the group stepped out, speaking to Dr. Wright from a distance.

"Dr. Stephen Wright, this is Paladin LaCroix. It is to our understanding that you possess something of our interest, some very advanced pieces of technology. You are to step aside and allow us to acquire it and to hand over any schematics, specifications, or documents. For your cooperation, we assure you and whoever you have been harboring will not be harmed. Should you fail to cooperate, we will be forced to take it"

"Okay, okay listen! You can have it alright! Just, just give me two minutes! I have to disarm all of my security!"

Dr. Wright needed to stall them long enough to get Elizabeth out of there. He closed the door, racing back to Elizabeth, she was rightfully confused.

"What's going on?"

"We need to get you out of here, now"

"The Brotherhood of Steel, don't they only want technology?"

"The Brotherhood's main goal is to acquire technology, but that doesn't mean they won't take it by any means necessary. If I allow them to have the Vita-Chamber and Lutece Device, if I give them the power to rejuvenate dead soldiers and access to other worlds; the results would be catastrophic, no one would be able to stop them. I can't let them get their hands on these machines, or anything related to them"

Dr. Wright gathered Elizabeth's things as they raced into the laboratory, closing and locking the steel door to the lab behind them, as they made their way into the room adjacent to the entrance of the lab that held the Lutece Device. Dr. Wright placed Elizabeth's things on the ground and started powering up the device. It would take a while, and he knew the Brotherhood wouldn't remain patient much longer. Dr. Wright stepped outside of the room, he punched in some code in a terminal nearby which opened a compartment. Inside appeared to be three mini nukes, with a trigger. Elizabeth saw Dr. Wright pick up the trigger, and got a better look at what was inside the compartment.

"Are those bombs?"

"Uh, sort of, they're nukes, mini nukes to be exact"

"We've been sitting right next to nuclear bombs!?"

"Yeah"

"What are you going to do?"

"You know what I have to do"

Dr. Wright knew that was last thing Elizabeth wanted to hear, but he knew he had no choice.

Outside the facility, the Brotherhood had waited long enough. Paladin LaCroix gave orders to breach the door and get inside; eliminate Dr. Wright and his friend. Brotherhood soldiers plant explosives on the door, while another in Power Armor readies a missile launcher, together it will pack enough of a punch to get the two-ton steel door open. The soldier fires a missile at the door, it sets off a huge earth rattling explosion as the indented door falls off its handles. Paladin LaCroix says they will breach on his mark.

Dr. Wright and Elizabeth feel the building shake as explosions go off, setting off alarms, they will get in soon. Although Elizabeth was physically ready to go, she wasn't ready to leave Dr. Wright behind emotionally.

"Come with me, leave all of this behind"

There was a hint of desperation in Elizabeth's voice.

"Elizabeth, look at me. There's no place for me in any other world; this is where I belong"

Dr. Wright accepted his fate and was not going to drag Elizabeth down with him.

"Elizabeth I, I haven't been honest with you…"

Dr. Wright had to come clean about something before Elizabeth could go.

"What?"

Elizabeth was confused.

"Please believe me when I say that I have always wanted to help you by sending you away to live a better life, that was never a lie, but I haven't been completely honest with you"

"Stephen, we don't have time for this, what are you talking about?"

Elizabeth needed Dr. Wright to say what was on his mind.

"I wanted to use the Lutece Device as a Plan B in case resurrecting Carol didn't work, I wanted to find a world where she was still alive"

"Stephen it's okay…"

Dr. Wright interrupted Elizabeth.

"No, you don't understand. I wanted the opportunity to be with her again so much that I…I was considering traveling to another timeline and, and killing a version of myself so I could…I could swap places with that variation of me…so I could be with Carol again. Even after you shared your life with me, and everything you endured, I still wanted to go through with it. But it's wrong. I just, I can't believe it took me having to watch you get taken away from your father, and the suffering you went through across countless worlds and timelines to get me to realize that what I wanted was wrong…"

Elizabeth was shocked by what Dr. Wright had admitted, but she still cared about him and understood how the loss of his wife had always clouded his judgment.

"Stephen it's okay, I forgive you. Listen we can, we can still find a Carol you can be with without damaging anything or hurting anyone. If we both leave and go to New York we can figure something out"

"You know that won't work, you know it first hand"

"Stephen please…"

Dr. Wright stopped Elizabeth before she could continue.

"Elizabeth, stop; I've already made up my mind"

"But, but what about your wife?"

Elizabeth started to tear up as Dr. Wright continued, he needed her to understand why he was choosing to stay behind.

"It's okay, I'm going to be with her soon. For over two centuries, I did what I had to do to survive, but I've also done terrible things. All the people I've exploited and murdered. Some deserved it, some innocent; no more, no more hurting others for personal gain. For years I've been so focused on my work that I never understood what was truly necessary until a while ago. Building these machines, bringing you into this world, it wasn't for me. All of this was for you, all of it; and I wouldn't trade it for anything, this is what Carol would have wanted"

Dr. Wright began to cry, his mouth curled into a crude smile for Elizabeth as he tried to comfort her. Elizabeth could hear the Brotherhood making their way through the facility, trying to get through the door that separated the two of them. Suddenly, the machine was on, the time was set, and it was time for Elizabeth to go.

"Please don't leave me, I don't want to be alone again"

Elizabeth begged and cried for Dr. Wright to come with her.

"You won't be alone, you are gonna find someone. You are a beautiful, kind, strong, and intelligent woman, I know you are gonna find someone who will love you"

Dr. Wright tried to comfort Elizabeth with what little time they had left, the door was almost off its hinges as a Power Armored soldier continued using brute force to get it open.

"Goodbye Elizabeth"

"Goodbye Stephen"

Elizabeth kissed Dr. Wright on the cheek as they hugged one last time. Elizabeth gathered her things as she saw Dr. Wright take his wife's skull out of another compartment. He smiled at the remains of his beloved Carol, before smiling back at Elizabeth. As the door flew open, Dr. Wright ran out of the room, detonator ready, as Elizabeth jumped through the tear out of 2289, and into the year 2012. Elizabeth hit the ground with a loud thud, her belongings falling out of her arms and landing right in front of her. Elizabeth stood up and could still see what was happening through the tear. Dr. Wright was nowhere to be found as the Brotherhood stormed the room. She could see them eyeing the machine, making their way towards it. A massive explosion covered the room in a ball of fire that knocked Elizabeth back, and then the tear closed. It was over; he was gone.

Elizabeth screamed Dr. Wright's name, running around in circles where the tear was, trying to find something, anything. There was nothing, nothing left to go through, nothing left to go back to. Elizabeth fell to her knees and sobbed into her hands. After everything she went through, another person she deeply cared for was gone, someone else who was willing to sacrifice their life to ensure she had a better one. And even though Elizabeth would forever be grateful for all the kindness and compassion Dr. Wright showed her, for everything he did for her, and how he wanted this for her more than anything as a last request to a long and painful life; it would still weigh heavy on her for a long, long time.


	12. Chapter 12 - Part 3

December 31st, 2013, as Elizabeth's story of her time in the Capital Wasteland came to a close, she buried her face in her hands, bawling as she beat herself up with regret.

"Everyone I've ever cared about is dead, and it's all my fault. Booker, my Booker, my only friend, my father…he died for me, and I honored his death by pursuing petty revenge. Stephen, the man who taught me it was okay to love…he spent two hundred years trying to save his wife, he found a way, and I took that away from him. I don't deserve to be here…I don't deserve you…I deserve to be dead again…"

As Elizabeth wept, Frank attempted to comfort her.

"Don't say that. You are so strong to come this far after everything that's happened to you. You made mistakes, but you never deserved to suffer. You never deserved to be left to rot in some decrepit forgotten city at the bottom of the ocean. They gave their lives so you could have a second chance at life and be happy, you deserve to be happy, you deserve love. Elizabeth; I, I lo…"

Frank paused when he heard the countdown to midnight, and Elizabeth came to her senses long enough for the countdown. 5-4-3-2-1; Happy New Year!

January 1st, 2014, Elizabeth had done it, she had shared her past with Frank, something she thought she would never be able to do. As the new year began and the tension settled, Frank took the opportunity to try and calm Elizabeth down.

"Calm down…calm down. There you go…it's okay…it's okay. Elizabeth you…you did it…you kept your promise"

Elizabeth finally calmed down, it felt good to let everything out, to no longer feel confined or restrained. It had been almost one year since that day, and even longer since she went through all the anguish, suffering, and death in Columbia, Rapture, and The Capital Wasteland. She knew she would never get her innocence back, but for the first time in forever; she finally felt free.

In a moment of passion, Elizabeth embraced Frank, almost squeezing him. She knew that even if she let go of him that he would still be there. But she wanted this moment with him to last, not wanting to leave it, so she held Frank for a little longer, something he didn't object to. Elizabeth turned her attention towards times square, remembering when she first arrived there in 2012, she remembered she wasn't finished with her story.

Continuing with her story, Elizabeth talked about how she was dropped off in New York City on October 8th, 2012. Even though she had technically seen it in 1984, it was from a distance in the sky under harsh circumstances. Seeing it up close for the first time, it was massive. There were so many new things to explore, and she didn't know where to start. After Elizabeth set up her identity and bank account with the help and information given to her, she jumped from hotel to hotel, some luxurious, others not so much. But she needed a place to stay while she explored this new time that seemed advanced in its own way. Elizabeth remembered the first time stepping into Times Square, it was big, massive, loud, and colorful. But then she would go back to her hotel, she couldn't help but crawl into bed and weep from time to time. The pain of losing Dr. Wright, the memories of her father, Booker, and how he used to live in New York City, how he wished he could take her home. Elizabeth needed to be strong, this was her new home, and she was going to carve something for herself out of it.

Deciding what to eat proved to be more of a chore for Elizabeth than it should have been. Sometimes she would go to an expensive and fancy restaurant, other times she would choose a fast food joint. Most of the time she didn't know about any of the foods on the menus, so she would just order at random and hope she liked it. But whether Elizabeth enjoyed her meals or not, she was happy to see that there was so much variety when it came to cuisine.

Perhaps the easiest thing for Elizabeth was fitting in through fashion. Although 2012 had trends and styles, it also embraced the past with retro fashion. There were a lot of clothing stores to shop at, and it seemed like Elizabeth could pretty much blend in with anything she chose, it helped that almost every salesperson complemented on how beautiful, sexy, and cute Elizabeth looked and how incredible it was that she could make any ensemble work. Although to her credit, she had experience with fashion in the past, literally. She usually wound up purchasing more than she needed, but ultimately settled on wearing simple and comfortable clothing. Elizabeth fancied T-shirts, jeans, and lots of sundresses, all in different styles. Regardless of what she wore, she almost always caught the eye of dozens of men on the street; she even stole the attention of a few ladies on occasion.

Technology seemed massive for the era. Even though the world didn't have flying cities or mutated creatures, the fact that everyone was linked to the marvelously innovation called the internet was truly extraordinary, and that people could access it over their phones, which had become portable and grown to resemble rectangular frisbees.

The first time going to a movie theater was memorable. After indulging in television, she wanted to see what movies were all about. The only movies she ever got to see were propaganda films from Columbia, Rapture, and The Capital Wasteland, but the movies of this world were truly different. Elizabeth remembered walking into a theater called the Alamo Drafthouse and asking the cashier what the best movie was in her opinion, the cashier pointed at a poster of a movie called The Little Mermaid. It was about a mermaid named Ariel, and her journey to leave the ocean behind and become part of the surface world. The ocean setting and the fact that Ariel was being robbed of her dreams was something Elizabeth was all too familiar with. It hit her on a personal level, despite the cheerful musical number that took place under the sea. When the movie was over, she and the entire audience gave it a standing ovation. Elizabeth was in tears, she was moved by Ariel's journey, and how it ended; she wound up seeing it three more times after that.

Elizabeth would continue to explore different things like music. There was endless amounts of music, all at the touch of a button. Some of the music she remembered during her days in Columbia, the anachronistic covers of songs throughout the years. Or the period songs that played constantly throughout Rapture and The Capital Wasteland. Elizabeth preferred to find new things to listen to and not dwell further on the past. She started listening to bands like The Who, The Rolling Stones, and The Beatles. At first, it sounded loud and noisy, like people smashing their instruments together at once, almost deafening her senses before she had to stop it completely. Eventually, she found songs that were listenable to her, and gradually moved up to the songs she struggled with. It still sounded rambunctious, but it was also positive, poetic even. David Bowie and Queen had her dancing to their rhythm and beats, and the lyrics that accompanied them; America really seemed to enjoy music from the United Kingdom, and she could see why. Her education into music helped her expand further beyond her comfort zone, and over the course of two months she found herself letting everything out to bands like Nirvana, Oasis, and The Smashing Pumpkins.

Then there was Elizabeth's favorite; books. The New York Public Library was a haven of books, when she wasn't exploring landmarks or learning new things, she would spend hours at the Library. Whether brushing up on the history of the timeline she occupied or enjoying fictional work from various authors over the past few decades, there was always something to find and new things to read. But there was one book that caught her eye; Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. Elizabeth's eyes watered and her hand shook the first time she tried to pick up and open the book. She feared that opening it would reveal that everything that happened from the Capital Wasteland to now was nothing more than an illusion, a daydream, that this book would wake her from her near-death fantasy, and she would find herself back in that hallway, ready to face down Fontaine's wrench once more. Luckily for her, that wasn't the case, but that didn't make exploring the contents of the book any easier. Aside from the name Atlas, which was used by Fontaine, there were similarities between Andrew Ryan and his beliefs of Objectivism. Could this book and its author have sparked some kind of influence to Mr. Ryan in his time? Elizabeth realized certain questions were perhaps better left unanswered. And with that, she discarded the book. Unfortunately, she didn't think it through and wound up having to pay library fees to replace it; perhaps it would have been better to just give the book back to the library.

There was so much to explore with New York City, but Elizabeth realized there was more to see around the world, but she wasn't ready yet. Elizabeth made another promise to herself long before she met Frank. Ever since she was born, Elizabeth had dreamed of seeing Paris. She had come close several times, but her life took a turn for the worst. When she arrived in the year 2012, she vowed that she would only go to Paris when she met someone. For even if she reached the City of Lights; it would still feel dark and lonely for her after losing the people she cared most for.

In the meantime, Elizabeth wanted to have to have her own apartment and settle down for a while. But not in New York City, she wanted to set up in a quiet location. After doing some research, she found a small city that seemed perfect to settle down in for the time being; it was Frank's hometown, the rest was history.


	13. Chapter 13

January 1st, 2014, when Elizabeth finished her story, Frank thought back to how this all began, what inspired Elizabeth to share her past with him.

"I remember when we went to California, we ran into that sociopath Callie. You got so angry at her you punched her in the face, like six or seven times. You tried to break her arm. You were holding her, crying and screaming over everything she did. I tried to get you to stop and you were yelling at her to apologize. All of that came from those dark places you told me about, didn't they?"

"Yeah, it did come from those dark places. I was so angry, I couldn't control myself"

Elizabeth still regretted putting her hands on Callie, even if she deserved it.

"Thank you for standing up for me"

It had been a struggle, but Frank knew and understood that Elizabeth cared deeply for him, despite all of the mistakes she made.

"But, I can see why you were so upset with me after we got back from our vacation, why you personally attacked me"

"What do you mean?"

"You've made mistakes, but so have I. I know I'm not the easiest person to deal with, but I can't imagine it's easy that, that I have the same first name as the man who…"

Frank was trying to finish his sentence, there was some silence, but Elizabeth caught on to what he was trying to say.

"No! No Frankie! No!"

"So why do you call me Frankie instead of Frank?"

It was understandable for Frank to question why Elizabeth wouldn't want to call him by his name in general, even though that wasn't the case.

"Frankie's just a nickname, I can call you Frank if you want"

"No, it's just…"

Frank stared at the floor in silence, he still didn't believe Elizabeth was comfortable with the fact that he shared the same name as the man who tortured and murdered her. Elizabeth cupped Frank's face in her hands, helping him look at her. She caressed his head while keeping her free hand on his shoulder.

"Frank, I don't care that you share the same name with that psychopath, it's just a name. You are nothing like him, you will never be anything like him. You are kind and sweet and compassionate and don't think for a second that your name would ever make me forget that. When I hear your name, I do think about him, but I'm also reminded that there are good people not just in this world, but in every world that exists beyond our reach; because you are one of them. Fontaine was a monster that was willing to do anything and hurt anyone to take what he wanted. But you, you give. You've given so much to me and everyone else who has been fortunate enough to be apart of your life; that is why I care about you"

Frank was speechless, he always had a hard time believing someone's praise and kind words, all he could do was try to smile as he nodded as he tried to show his appreciation.

"Frank…"

Frank interrupted Elizabeth.

"You can call me Frankie if you want"

Elizabeth smiled, she always did like calling him Frankie.

"Frankie, thank you. Thank you for believing me, for giving me this chance. I've wanted to tell you everything for so long. But, you never deserved to be forced to endure the burden of those visions, to see those things. I'm so sorry if anything you've seen or anything I've done or told you has made you upset or uncomfortable"

Frank reflected on everything Elizabeth had told him, specifically what Comstock and Fontaine had done to her. Comstock stole Elizabeth from Booker when she was just a baby, and held her captive in a tower for years. She escaped with Booker, only to be captured again and nearly put through a procedure to make her more docile for her indoctrination. Although the procedure wasn't completed, it most likely led to her becoming barren, making her incapable of conceiving children. But surprisingly, that was nothing compared to what Fontaine had done. Fontaine was sick enough to place an orbitoclast pick under Elizabeth's upper eyelid, against her top eye socket, and use it to almost penetrate her skull, torturing her psychologically and physically, with the threat of being lobotomized. Then, when he broke her and she gave him what he wanted, he betrayed her, striking her twice with a wrench, fracturing her skull and causing her brain to hemorrhage, leading to her death. Every part of Elizabeth's dreadful past tore at Frank. He felt anger, sadness, and physical sickness.

Frank knew he had to help Elizabeth, but he couldn't help her all by himself; so he was going to have to turn to people he knew could help her. Frank had befriended a group of individuals years ago, during yet another strange time in his life. They were people with well-guarded secrets, but they were people Frank could trust with Elizabeth's secrets; they were also people who could make things happen.

"Elizabeth, it's okay. It's hard not to cringe when I hear about everything you went through. It, it makes me sick, it makes my stomach churn and my heart ache. But it's okay. If it makes you feel better you can tell me whatever you want. You can tell me if you were scared or hurt, or whatever you felt. You can be specific, detailed, whatever you need to say. I will always set aside my personal feelings for you because you matter more than me being uncomfortable. I can't change what happened, but maybe I can help you find closure. And it's not just me, there are people I know through a friend. I have a friend who is; unique. She's associated with powerful people. People who specialize in, I guess you could say, the not so ordinary. They have personal therapists and psychiatrists. I can explain everything and they can give you the proper help you need that you couldn't get anywhere else. My point is; you can be open now, you don't need to stay quiet anymore"

Elizabeth was taken back, she knew Frank had a good heart but she never expected him to put aside so much and go to such big lengths to ensure she would get better, both mentally and emotionally.

"See, like I said about you. Always kind. Always compassionate. Always giving. Thank you"

Elizabeth started to tear up a little again, smiling as Frank nodded once more.

"All you have to do is ask, I'll help you with whatever you need"

Elizabeth thought hard, there was something she wanted. She wasn't sure if Frank could do anything, but now that they were open about everything she figured it wouldn't hurt to ask.

"Having money is one thing but, I know I want more from this world; do you think there's a chance I could go to college?"

"Of course"

Elizabeth lit up, it sounded too good to be true.

"But I've never been to any kind of school before, I wouldn't have anything to show for any college to accept me"

Elizabeth had discussed with Frank how she wanted to go to college, but when he asked what was stopping her, she obviously couldn't give an answer. But now, it was easy to see why Elizabeth felt it was not possible, but Frank was still determined to help her.

"I know you have no records due to, well, not existing in this world, but I can still talk to the people I know. They could pull strings for you to get into any college you want, any major you want"

"I've heard a lot about the schools this world has to offer, and the opportunities to get a good education. I, I think I'd like to major in English, maybe be a school teacher. It's funny; wanting to be a teacher even though I've never set foot in a classroom"

"It's not funny, you want to educate people, help them learn so they can become better and get opportunities that you never had growing up. That's what you want right?"

"Yes but, could your friends really help me with that?"

"I'll talk to them but I'm sure given your circumstances they can help you, and I'll be here to support you, every step of the way"

"Frankie I, I don't even know what to say…"

So many things were happening at once, all because Elizabeth had finally decided to open up to Frank. Out of all the scenarios that played in her head about how this night would end; she never imagined this could be one of them.

"It's okay. You know the universe has a crazy way of bringing people together. But It's okay, everything is okay. We're here now and that's what's important. We're here now and we're together, I'm here for you"

It would still take a long time to cope with what she had been through, but for now, Elizabeth wanted to push her emotions aside and try to end the night on a positive note.

"We should do something special to start the New Year"

Elizabeth got up and went through her Blu-Ray collection, taking out one of her favorite movies of all time; The Little Mermaid. Even after all this time, Frank and Elizabeth never got around to watching it together. Elizabeth popped the Blu-Ray in and settled next to Frank.

"This year I, I mean, we…we'll finally be able to see Paris"

Elizabeth was happy that she would finally live her dream of seeing Paris, but it would mean nothing if Frank was not a part of it. Elizabeth and Frank both held eyes for almost a full minute. After years of keeping secrets from everyone; they truly felt together and inseparable because of their honesty.

"Yeah, I can't wait"

Before the movie could start, Elizabeth paused it, she had one last thing to share with Frank.

"There is one last part of my story that I haven't told you, I felt I should save it for the end. What you said earlier about the universe bringing us together, and those dreams you had. You were right, we never met by chance"

"What?"

"As I mentioned before, I used to be able to see all outcomes and probabilities. Before I went back to save Sally, I saw something, but I had forgotten it when I returned to Rapture. I can't specifically remember how, when, or why I saw it, it was very brief, and I didn't understand what it meant at the time, but it was clear what I had seen"

"What was it?"

"When I was omnipotent, I could see all the doors, and what's behind all the doors. And behind one of them, incredibly; I saw you, I saw us, I saw the day we first met"

Elizabeth began to think back to when she first saw Frank and the day she would meet him.

? ? ?, Elizabeth had been walking for almost an hour, traversing the plain of existence outside of space and time. A realm where the concepts of linear time no longer applied. Where past and present, and endless possibilities existed simultaneously. Each possibility was represented by a lighthouse, lighthouses that resembled the very same lighthouses used to enter Columbia and Rapture. And with every lighthouse, there was a door, doors that lead to each and every possibility. But there was one door Elizabeth was specifically looking for, a door that was beckoning her, calling out to her.

Suddenly, a bright white light eclipsed Elizabeth, and she found herself in a white void, with a single door in front of her. There was nowhere to go, all she could do was see what was behind the door before her. She opened it up a crack, what she observed had her baffled; it was her, it was her and some other man she had never seen before. Carefully, she kept the door open and peeked through, as she had done many times when she observed Booker, as she listened to them talk.

"Hi, do you need help with anything?"

"Oh no I'm good thanks"

Elizabeth watched as her counterpart sorted through books before the man spoke to her.

"Actually can you help me look for a book? Please?"

"Yes, what do you need?"

"Uh it's um, it's, oh Metro 2033"

"Okay I'll be right back"

Elizabeth continued to ponder over what she was looking at as she watched the man standing around. Where was this? When was this? It was clearly a different time, a different era, but what was Elizabeth doing there? Who was she speaking to? More importantly, was the Elizabeth she was watching even her? Was the Elizabeth she continued to observe from an alternate timeline? Or was she watching a premonition of the future? The alternate Elizabeth returned and continued to talk to the man.

"We have it, I'll show you where it is"

"Oh I uh, I don't wanna bother you"

"No, it's fine I'll show you"

Just as the man started to follow the alternate Elizabeth, the true Elizabeth opened the door further to get a better look. The man stopped in his tracks and started looking around, before looking straight at Elizabeth while she observed him. The man couldn't see Elizabeth watching him through the door, but he could somehow sense her. Elizabeth could hear the alternate Elizabeth address the man.

"Is everything okay?"

"Yeah um…nothing, it's nothing"

The alternate Elizabeth left alongside the man as the current Elizabeth closed the door; it would be a long time before she figured out what she had witnessed.

January 1st, 2014, Frank never forgot the day he met Elizabeth or that moment he felt someone watching him. Now he knew that it was Elizabeth watching him and her future self from another point in time, he just couldn't see her. This caused him to have a sudden realization. Frank could never figure out what Elizabeth saw in him, how not even all the luck in the world could unite him with someone as rich, intelligent, and beautiful as her. She could have any man she wanted; so why him? But now, he finally understood why. Frank knew there was no such thing as chance, he learned this a long time ago. Elizabeth had seen that Frank would be there for her after she had shortly arrived into his world. He had foreseen it in the past as well, she didn't need just anybody; she needed him.

"Elizabeth…I…there's something I want to tell you…"

"What is it?"

"I…"

"What? Just say it"

"I love you, Elizabeth"

Frank uttered the words he held back earlier, words he wanted to say to Elizabeth since he realized long ago how he truly felt about her.

Elizabeth smiled as she cried tears of content and happiness, she longed to hear those words.

"I love you, Frankie"

Elizabeth spiritually found herself back at the Sea of Doors, once again wearing her blue dress with her hair styled short. She and Frank were united in this realm that existed beyond the stars.

"What is this? What's happening?"

Frank was taken back, he was as shocked as he was mesmerized.

"I'm not sure…maybe this is a farewell to this realm, one last look before I permanently depart this, Sea of Doors; with you…"

Elizabeth brought her thimble hand to Frank's cheek, bringing out a smile from him.

Frank didn't know the scientific aspects of what was happening, but he did know two things. One, he knew that Elizabeth looked absolutely beautiful at this moment, and Two; he knew that he really wanted to kiss her.

Frank leaned in close to Elizabeth, and together they shared a kiss that could be felt across all of time and space. Every plateau of every universe merged together as one into this content and heartfelt moment. Where every world, their size, and all their mysteries felt smaller in comparison. Their love brightened the night sky, daylight overcame the darkness surrounding the lighthouses, each lighthouse representing a different universe. It was truly beautiful. And just as quickly as Elizabeth had returned to the Sea of Doors, she was thrust back into the world she occupied with Frank when they finished expressing their love for one another.

Thanks to the sacrifices made by the people who cared for Elizabeth, her and Frank were together, truly together; it truly was a happy ending.

Well, not exactly.

Shortly after New Years, Frank had an epiphany, a sudden realization of what he wanted to do with his life. He wanted to meet people, not just anyone, but people who had gone through special circumstances like Elizabeth. He wanted to lend them an ear, to listen, to learn about their worlds, and possibly help them in any way he could; because even those who exist in realms of the all-powerful needed someone they could call a friend from time to time.

Elizabeth understood this, so she was forced to make yet another difficult decision; she broke up with Frank. She loved him, he loved her, they loved each other, and it would also mean holding off her dream of seeing Paris. But she knew that he was destined to do great things, and in order for him to move forward, she decided it was best to let him go. Frank resented Elizabeth for a while, but eventually, he came to terms with the breakup and forgave her. As a present, from one friend to another; Elizabeth gave Frank the funds to travel the world and find a way to accomplish his new dream.

But that wasn't the end, Elizabeth would go on to receive her education from New York University in English, she also received the therapy she was promised. It took a year of psychiatric treatment while she balanced out college, but eventually, her psychological health improved as she came to terms with her past. Elizabeth also fell in love again during her second year of college with a man named Jack Wells, who somewhat resembled Jack Ryan, the man from her vision during her final moments in Rapture. She would reveal the truth about her past, and although there was no evidence, deep down he knew she was telling the truth. They weren't sure if he knew due to some kind of cosmic intervention, but he knew, and he would accept her for who she was. They would get married, and adopt a daughter named Anna, who was as beautiful as Elizabeth, and give her what she was denied in life; the love of a family. After graduating from college, she went on to be an English teacher and teach high school students in upstate New York. It was difficult like any profession, but she gained a reputation as a caring and cool teacher. She helped her students by giving them the chance to excel; especially ones that she knew had endless potential.

As for Frank, the last thing Elizabeth heard right after she married Jack, was that Frank had followed leads about the possibility of a portable inter-dimensional travel device of unknown origin that had been discovered and researched in an old abandoned research faculty located in Hong Kong. Shortly after that, Frank dropped off the grid. No one, not even his close friends in high places knew what happened to him. But Elizabeth wasn't worried, she knew he was still out there, she knew he had found a way to accomplish his dream.

Frank knew the universe was even bigger than he thought it was, but thanks to his experiences, he was looking forward to what he would find next; and Elizabeth was looking forward to hearing his stories when he got back home.


	14. Chapter 14

July 6th, 2297, a strange looking but beautiful woman continued sipping a Sunset Sarsaparilla while reading, as she sat alone at a dining booth in the hotel dining area of a former fallout shelter, that was turned into a Hotel and Casino; Vault 21, one of the most well-known establishments in New Vegas. A sharp dressed man comes over and tries to make small talk.

"Hello little lady, my those are some big eyes you have"

The sharp dressed man was referring to her blood red, almost ghoulish eyes that stood out to him.

"Yes, I get that a lot. I guess you could say I'm a…half ghoul"

The woman smiled back at the man.

"No worries. What's your name doll? Is this seat taken?"

"This seat is empty, but I prefer to have my space. My name is Carol Taylor Wright, and I'm married"

Carol reveals a scuffed up but beautiful bird cameo brooch around her neck.

"My husband gave me this gift several years ago, it belonged to an old friend of his. I keep it on me to remind myself of everything he has done for me, and how much I love him"

Casting the sharp dressed man away as he tips his hat in respect, she continues reading before heading back to her room. Carol enters her hotel room, Etta James At Last played over the radio, setting the mood for her as she addresses her husband, who is somewhat distracted as he watches something through a makeshift portable device.

"Stephen, are you watching them again?"

Dr. Wright pried himself away from what he was watching to answer his wife. He was watching Elizabeth and her companion Jack through the tear monitor he created that worked as a sort of television into other universes.

"Do you think I should have told her I had a makeshift bomb shelter in the facility before setting off the nukes? Things may not have played out the way they did, but…"

Stephen was quiet, Carol continued talking, she always understood how he felt.

"I suppose, but she made it didn't she? That's what you wanted in the end, right?"

"Yeah"

Carol took a hand to Dr. Wright's shoulder as she looked over at what he was watching.

"You should really find a way to let her know you're alive"

"I'm working on it, hang on let me skip to the best part"

Dr. Wright switches over to another tear. It appeared to be summer, Elizabeth, Jack, and Anna were in Paris. It wasn't exactly how she envisioned it, but as she gazed upon the Eiffel Tower with him, Elizabeth became so overwhelmed with happiness that she broke down crying. Dr. Wright and Carol smiled simultaneously when Jack wiped away Elizabeth's tears, as they shared a deep, passionate kiss. Elizabeth wiped her tears away and called out for Booker. A Maltese puppy ran up to the three of them, jumping up into Anna's arms as it showed her love and affection.

After everything Elizabeth had been through, her dream of seeing Paris finally came true, and she was able to share that dream with her husband Jack, her daughter Anna, and their new family member, named after Elizabeth's father; Booker.

Carol gently took the tear monitor from Dr. Wright, turning it off so he could give her his full attention as she took a seat next to him.

"You need to take your mind off of her for a while, she's fine, you made sure of that"

"I guess sometimes, I just…I miss her"

"I know, she misses you too. You were both good friends, great ones at that"

Dr. Wright pulled himself together as he turned his attention to his wife.

"So, what would you recommend I do to keep myself occupied?"

"You could continue trying to find a cure for your infliction, even a temporary one"

Dr. Wright gave Carol a jestful stern look.

"I have to find one for you too. Those eyes, the side effect of prolonged aging"

"Nothing a pair of sunglasses can't fix, you on the other hand. Besides you love my eyes, as do a few others. Earlier a man was flirting with me in the dining area"

"I'm sure you loved it"

Dr. Wright teased Carol as she laughed.

"All that matters, all that's ever matter, is that we're perfect for each other"

Carol held hands with Dr. Wright, expressing her love for her husband.

"Yeah, oh I got something to show you"

Dr. Wright reached into the drawer next to him, he pulled out plans drawn out on paper, it was architecture designs for a house.

"This is a project we were always talking about. I'm a bit rusty, haven't done carpentry since the bombs fell, but I'd like to give this a try. We can find a lake, and we'll have all the time in the world to grow some trees, use the wood to build the house we've always wanted; I've spent almost three decades perfecting botany. Well, four at this point"

Carol couldn't believe it, the design for the house was everything she imagined it would be.

"Stephen it's, this is beautiful"

Carol's red eyes began to water as she teared up and smiled.

"You are beautiful; you are just as beautiful as the day I met you. These are the moments we live for, two hundred years in the making. I love you, Carol.

"I love you, Stephen"

Dr. Wright, Stephen, shared a kiss with his wife Carol, Mrs. Wright. In the end, everything worked out; all was right in every world.

End

 **Authors Note: So what started as a sort of what if idea grew into an entire story that I decided to write. When I was writing this, one thing that was difficult to tackle was Elizabeth's dialogue. I felt the best direction to go was to make her a mix of the innocent kind personality she has when Booker first finds her in the beginning of Bioshock Infinite, as well as the cold almost broken demeanor in Burial at Sea.**

 **As far as original characters go, I think Dr. Stephen Wright might be my personal preference out of some of the original characters I've come up with. I loved Dr. Wright so much that in the process of fleshing him out, I scrapped the original ending where he was dead dead, and opted for a more happier ending that fits with Elizabeth's conclusion in this story.**

 **As for the ending, I never had any desire to ship Frank Williams and Elizabeth, so I thought it would be more appropriate for her to separate from Frank and start a family with a variation of Jack Ryan. This also gives Frank motivation to find his purpose in life, something that I fleshed out during the follow up story, The World Traveler. If you wish to read that, feel free to copy/paste this link next to the dot net of fanfiction dot net.**

 **s/12615075/1/The-World-Traveler**

 **I'd like to say thank you to everyone who read this, I know this kind of story is a little unorthodox but I hope you enjoyed it, feel free to send feedback.**

 **\- TheBloodInfinite20XX**


End file.
